


Diamond in the Rough

by Rakuyou_Tenshi (Citrus_Luver)



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alien Technology, Aliens Made Them Do It, Angsty Schmoop, Childbirth, Domestic Fluff, F/M, First Dates, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Kid Fic, M/M, Masturbation, Medical Trauma, Missions Gone Wrong, Mpreg, Multi, Pregnancy, Self-Discovery, Unplanned Pregnancy, multiple pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:28:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 55,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2308007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citrus_Luver/pseuds/Rakuyou_Tenshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After five years, Jim Kirk thought he had had seen it all.  It isn't until an encounter with an alien race on the edge of the Beta Quadrant that turns Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy's worlds upside down.  </p><p>Or</p><p>This is Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy's journey to parenthood as they await the births of their children that they never thought they would have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the Enterprise reach the destination of their final away mission of their 5 year mission...

After four years in deep space, Jim Kirk really thought he had seen it all. He was sure after the silicon life forms, ancient gods, worlds that were controlled by supercomputers, and that one planet with the Nazis, there couldn't possibly be anything left that would surprise him. He was not that green captain that had been awarded the fleet's star ship due to one part luck, one part genius, and eight parts having the best crew in the fleet.

So with only three months left in their first legendary five year mission, Beta Micron V would be the Enterprise’s final stop in deep space before she would start her long return trip to Earth. They still had a few more star clusters to map and a formation of a new nebula to catch, but besides that this would be their last stop.

The Enterprise was already being scheduled for a long shake down and rebuild before the top brass would decide what to do with her next. Jim knew she was not the young lady she had been when he received her all those years ago just like how he was not the young man he had been when he was first given his commission.

Jim had already started the long process of filing commendations for members of his crew. He knew that most of his crew would not be returning for another five year jaunt into deep space. He also was not sure that the admiralty was in a hurry to send him out either. Through the Federation's long range frequencies and his few and far between conversations with the top brass, all indications showed that they wanted him to stay around and teach at the academy for a few years before sending him out again. They wanted him to train their newest and brightest cadets and endow them with his experiences and tactics. He was older now, and he hoped wiser. He was not the same reckless, angry young man he had been when he had been first recruited into Starfleet.

However, he wasn't sure the admiralty would appreciate his tactics. Anyone who saw him work knew he was not a by-the-book captain. He had a tendency to leap first and consider the consequences later. He relied more on his phaser and 'making the waters mucky' than sitting down for long negotiations. He was a doer not a planner.

He knew it gave his senior command staff many grey hairs especially Bones and Spock. He was called lucky more often than not. Jim saw it as intuition.

Beta Micron V was on the far edge of the Beta quadrant. Star charts and gravitational fields showed it was the last planet before a large expanse of deep space. It would be many, many light years to the next inhabitable planet.

Federation records showed that Beta Micron V had never been visited by the Federation or pre-Federation planets before. However, initial scans had shown that the planet was class M. The subspace chatter that Uhura had been able to pick up from the surface of the planet indicated that the planet's inhabitants had long discovered warp drive. They just did not seem to use it. That intrigued Jim. He could not manage a civilization that did not involve space travel once it was discovered. He could not imagine being grounded after living in space for so long. It was home.  More home than Earth had ever been.

Once they sent in the reports; the admiralty immediately saw it as a strategic stronghold for the Federation’s growth and the impending war with the Klingons and Romulans that was long overdue. As a result, Jim's orders were clear: ‘obtain trading rights and persuade them to join the Federation’.

The 'any means possible’ was implied.

In nearly five years, Jim had almost a near perfect record for obtaining trade arrangements minus the Organian fiasco which he swore was not his fault. That fiasco, which had occurred very early on during the mission, had resulted in a cold war standoff between the Klingons and the Federation. Both sides scoffed at the idea of peace. Even Jim, who had seen the images during his mind meld with Old Spock from that other universe where Klingon and Federation peace had been achieved, was skeptical. In that time, the spontaneous and premature explosion of Praxis had caused the alliance to form; however, in this universe Admiral Marcus had already commanded Khan to destroy it.

War was inevitable. The Organian treaty had just prolonged the inevitable intergalactic war that Admiral Marcus had predicted more than six years prior.

But this would be Jim’s last major assignment for this mission, and Jim wanted it to end on a positive note. As a result, he was cautious. He handpicked his best away team when he first received the orders. He was not leaving anything to chance.

However as they reached hailing range, it was the denizens of Beta Micron V who contacted them first.

A female voice filtered through the Enterprise's com links. "Oh ship from the stars, your presence was prophesied from the heavens. Your arrival is heralded by the prophets to bring us all into the dawn of a new era."

Jim looked around at his bridge crew. Each of their faces, even Spock’s in his limited range of emotions, mirrored his own startled look. His fingers hovered over the red alert button.

Jim directed his gaze at his communication’s officer. “Lieutenant Uhura, did you open the hailing frequencies?”

“No, Captain,” Uhura responded curtly. Jim could see her hair bristling. Of course Uhura would not have prematurely opened hailing frequencies.

"Fascinating," Spock said. He lifted an eyebrow.

Jim slid his fingers to the yellow alert button and quickly depressed it. The silent yellow klaxon activated throughout the Enterprise.

"Open hailing frequencies, lieutenant.” He was not taking any chances with his ship or crew. The admiralty might want a trade agreement; however, Jim was not willing to risk his crew or ship on it especially since they were so close to going home.

“Yes, Captain.”

Moments later, a female form appeared on the video screen. Jim immediately noted that the inhabitants of Beta Micron V were humanoids. The female had pale skin. She looked so similar to him that Jim was willing to bet if she was on Earth, nobody would be able to tell that she was not human. The only difference was that she was heavily clothed in a robe that was embellished with highly elaborate decorations. She seemed to be sitting down on an equally elaborate chair. The embellishments were made of gold, diamonds and other gemstones.

“This is Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise.” Jim started. He decided against mentioning the message that he had received from the planet’s surfaces. “We come in peace. We would like to talk and share ideas between your people and the United Federation of Planets.”

It seemed his response pleased the female. A smile was a universal signal for non-hostility despite Spock’s beliefs that smiling was a very ‘human’ trait. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain and your crew.” She nodded at each member of his bridge crew. “I am S’ara, leader of N’irtha. I welcome you. I too desire to discuss peace; however, many of my people are currently consumed by a terrible illness.”

“We are equipped with highly advanced medical technology and my own medical team have discovered and learned many new remedies and cures throughout our travels. Might I offer our assistance? Then we can talk peace?” Jim smiled his million dollar smile.

S’ara nodded. “That would be most agreeable. I will send rendezvous coordinates to your ship. We look forward to meeting you and your chief medic.” The link disconnected at that moment.

“Transporter room to bridge,” Scotty’s voice echoed through the bridge.

Jim canceled the yellow alert before responding. “Kirk here.”

“We have just received the coordinates from the surface, Captain.”

“Stand by, Mr. Scott.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Captain,” Spock stated. Jim watched as Spock walked quickly and briskly from his science station to Jim’s chair. Jim had been waiting for this. He did not doubt that Spock would not have a thousand critiques for what had just transpired. After nearly seven years, Jim had long learned to handle Spock’s criticisms.

“Mr. Spock.”

“I don’t advise sending only you and the doctor to a planet we know nothing of.”

"Duly noted Mr. Spock." Jim nodded warily. It seemed Spock also caught the nuisances of S’ara’s parting words. “Mr. Spock, do sensors show any abnormal readings?”

“No, Captain.”

“Starfleet wants these trading agreements. I doubt they will be pleased if we blotch it due to over analysis. We’ve been in tighter binds than this before.” Jim smiled grimly. Some of their missions still gave him nightmares. He clapped his hands on Spock’s shoulders. “I highly doubt S’ara has malicious implications. Dr. McCoy and I will beam down first. However, if you do not hear from us within the half hour, beam down a security detail.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Jim nodded before turning around. He pressed the com link button on his chair. “Kirk to Dr. McCoy.”

“McCoy here,” Bones’ voice echoed through the bridge. Jim bet that Bones had heard the transmission and would require no explanation.

“Meet me in transporter room 2.”

“Standard medical equipment.” It was not phrased as a question. In all the time Jim had known Bones, he rarely questioned the other man’s medical knowledge. However, despite their nearly decade long friendship, there were still certain protocols they still followed.

“Yes. Kirk out.”

Jim stepped out of his chair. “Mr. Spock, you have the conn.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The last thing he saw as the turbo lift doors closed was Spock sinking into his chair. It was a scene he had long grown accustomed to over the years. He tried not to think too much about their initial jaunt through space when he and Spock had fought for the right to the captain’s chair.

Bones was waiting for him in the transporter room. Jim immediately noticed the small black satchel that hung loosely next to Bones’ hips. He was hovering over the console as he spoke with Scotty. Jim marched forward and lightly slapped Bones on the shoulders. Bones immediately turned on the balls of his feet.

“Ready Bones?” Jim grinned, one of his iconic shit eating grins. Despite Spock’s and his own apprehensions, Beta Micron V was still a new planet. New planets meant new things and places to see and study, and that made Jim excited. He bounced onto the transporter pad.

Bones followed, grousing about all the hazards of transporter travel. After nearly ten years, Jim had grown accustomed to Bones’ grumbling. Jim had longed learned Bones was not nearly as grumpy as he pretended to be. He did not hate the things he complained about nearly as much as he complained about them especially since he complained about Jim the most. Jim watched as Bones stepped onto the transporter pad next to him before nodding at Scotty through the transporter window. “Energize, Mr. Scott.”

“Aye, Captain,” Scotty said happily. Scotty was always happy to send people down to their fates… dooms? Jim was not sure anymore.

Jim felt the familiar sensation of the transporter beam. As his molecules degenerated, Jim mildly entertained the thought that Bones might be correct. However seconds later when both he and Bones regenerated on the surface of Beta Micron V, all those thoughts faded from his mind.

Transporters were so much easier than shuttle travel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim becomes acquainted with S'ara and her people...

Jim drew a deep breath at his surroundings. Beta Micron V was a green planet. They were standing in a sea of endless grass. In the far distance, Jim could make out what seemed like signs of civilization. There appeared to be an old medieval castle in the distance. “Charming,” Bones muttered. Jim could see that Bones was itching to grab his tricorder and scan everything.

“Captain, Doctor.” A voice called to them. Both Jim and Bones turned towards the voice. Jim immediately recognized S’ara. She was followed by a large gathering. Jim clenched and unclenched his fingers. He found himself instinctively reaching for his phaser and had to actively prevent himself from grabbing it.

S’ara stepped forward. "Welcome Captain James T. Kirk, and doctor..."

"Leonard McCoy," Bones supplied.

S'ara nodded. She gestured at the two beings behind her. "These are my closest advisors, T'amara and V'alcon."

Jim blinked. The two looked eerily similar. "Please contact your ship. We mean you no harm." S'ara stated.

"I'll ...wait." Jim smiled one of his charming smiles.

S'ara nodded. "Very well. Would you like to see your quarters or attend to the sick first?”

"We’ll see the sick." Jim answered.

S'ara smiled. She turned on her heels. Jim shrugged his shoulders at Bones before following.

As they walked, S'ara eventually fell into step with Jim to converse with him. Bones hung back, but Jim knew he too was hanging onto every word she was saying. S'ara told him how her people were only one group of four on the planet. N’irtha was located in the eastern part of the planet. She laughed when Jim told her that the Federation had named her planet Beta Micron V.

"And one through four, Captain. Where are those?"

"The Federation named this planet based on its order from the epicenter of rotation. Your planet’s approximate location would be mapped fifth from its center. It is called Beta Micron for how close it is to the edge of the Beta Quadrant."

"Beta quadrant?" S'ara asked.

"The Federation has divided this galaxy into four quadrants. We are on the south eastern edge."

"And your planet, Captain, what is it called? Something… something… with a number?" S'ara waved her fingers.

"No," Jim chuckled. "It is called Earth."

"Earth?" S'ara asked. She wrinkled her brow. “Like dirt...ground?"

"Yes, when my people first lived there, they didn't have a way to transverse the galaxy or even much of the world. All they knew was the land they stood on, earth."

"Charming, my people haven’t traveled through the stars in a long time. Have you found what you are looking for, Captain?"

Jim blinked. "I'm sorry. I do not understand."

His communicator beeped at that moment. "Go ahead," S’ara grinned.

Jim nodded. He flipped open his communicator. "Kirk here."

"Captain, this is Spock. It is almost past check in time..."

Jim had not realized how much time had elapsed. He rarely made such a minor error. It was a good thing that he had Spock. However, in Jim’s defense it had been a long walk. Jim wondered why they had beamed down so far away. "Stand down Mr. Spock. Dr. McCoy and I are fine. We'll check in again later."

"Understood, Captain."

"Kirk out."' Jim closed his communicator. He flashed another smile at S'ara.

She clapped her hands together. "Look, we are here."

Jim halted. He looked upwards, startled. It was a large, reddish brown stucco building. He heard Bones let out a gasp. They filed inside. Jim was immediately bombarded by the smell of sickness and hospital antiseptic. There were so many beds, and all were occupied.

He watched as Bones immediately jumped into action. Bones like him was a man of action. Bones was always in his element when it involved medical research or curing the sick. He watched Bones buster between the beds. He watched him take scans from the sick, bark for medical logs and medicine. Jim would never admit it to anyone, but he loved watching Bones like this. He was like a superhero.

“He’s strong willed, Captain,” S’ara remarked. She was now standing next to him.

“He’s brilliant. If anyone can find a cure, it’s Bones.”

“Bones?”

“Nickname.” Jim waved his fingers.

“Oh.” He saw the corners of S’ara’s lips curl upwards. “You and the doctor are very close then?”

Jim nodded. He answered absently and easily. “I would trust him with my life, have many times actually. First friend I made at the academy.”

"Academy?"

"Starfleet Academy, it's a school founded by the organization that Bones and I are a part of. They train future officers. We are the Federation's ambassadors, diplomats, and first defense."

"Charming, peace keepers and warriors, and what are you, Captain?” Jim saw the twinkle in S’ara’s eyes. “Are you for peace or for war, cooperation or conquest?"

"War and conquest is never the Federation's first solution."

S'ara clapped her hands. "My, my Captain Kirk, you really are the diplomat. Walk with me, Captain?”

Jim looked up and found Bones hovering over a bed. He looked busy; however, it seemed Bones always knew when Jim needed him. He watched as Bones mutter something to the patient in the bed before walking over. "Doctor?" S'ara asked. Jim could see worry lines run along her forehead. It mirrored his own expression whenever his own crew was sick.

"Still need to take more data and then run some analysis before I can make a diagnosis. However, most patients seem to be in the early stages," Bones stated. Bones never sugar coated anything.

"Then you know what it is?"

"I have my hunches."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Bones nodded before turning to Jim.

"It’ll be awhile, Jim. The medical staff and I have it under control, so if you want to..." Bones always knew what Jim wanted to say before he needed to say it.

"Okay Bones. I can come back for you in a couple hours."

Bones shook his hand. "Probably better if I stay here, find that cure soon. You go be captainy."

Jim laughed.

"We have prepared quarters for you, Doctor. Any of the doctors here know where they are if you would like to rest." S'ara commented.

"Thank you." Bones nodded before returning to his ‘patients’.

"Now for that walk, Captain," S'ara beamed. She stretched out her elbow for Jim. Jim looked back at Bones once more before taking her arm.

S'ara's guards trailed behind them. Jim thought she would be taking him to the castle they had seen in the distance. Instead they ended up in a gazebo located in a park with a flowing river. Jim was surprised that there was already a feast laid out for them.

"Come, eat and we will talk."

"I..." Jim started.

However his stomach betrayed him when it let out a loud grumble at the sight of the food. He had forgotten to eat lunch. He had been too excited about finally reaching Beta Micron V. S'ara laughed. "We've provided a similar feast for the doctor. I'm sure your culture like ours believe it is better to discuss politics on a full stomach than on an empty one. Many treaties have been signed over food."

Jim smiled. That was true.

They sat on soft pillows. The table was at chest height. The food did smell good. It also looked pleasant unlike the food in some alien worlds he had been to. He still remembered the Klingon feast he had once been 'treated' to once. Even Jim Kirk who liked his steak rare couldn't stomach some of the Klingon food. At least here nothing moved or squinted blood into his mouth when he chewed.

They passed around many dishes. Some Jim felt he might recognize for how close they resembled Earth food. Once his plate was full, and his wine glass filled. They started eating.

There wasn't much chatter. It was mostly just S'ara explaining to him how some dishes should be eaten, or how it was prepared.

Jim noted like on Earth, they also baked, fried, roasted and steamed their food. They had a large range of different tastes.

Most importantly they did not use food synthesizers.

"What do you think?" S'ara asked after all the dishes had been cleared away. She smiled at him before standing. She stuck out her elbow again.

Jim smiled before standing up and taking it.

"I haven't had food like this in a long time," Jim answered sincerely.

"Oh, is the food on your ship not good?"

Jim laughed. "No, unfortunately not. We haven't been to a space station to resupply in a long time. It's usually not this bad, but this far into deep space we usually have to eat synthesized foods."

"Synthesized food?" S'ara furrowed her eyebrows. She guided him to a grass field.

"They come out of machines. They are made from the most basic ingredients...atoms. Unfortunately, it is such a new invention that all the food that comes out of the food synthesizers look like tiny blocks." Jim held up his hand and using his thumb and index finger showed S'ara approximately how big they were.

"That doesn't sound appetizing," S'ara noted.

"No, it really isn't.” Jim remembered his own breakfast this morning consisted of a bowl of yellow and red blocks.

“All your men up there," S'ara tilted her head upwards. “They are eating 'blocks'."

Jim nodded.

S'ara frowned. "If only my people weren't so sick..."

Jim immediately shook his head. "It really isn't that bad. You get used to it after a while. It's better than some of the dried foods from the past." Jim laughed. "The things you do for knowledge."

S'ara tilted her head. "I do not understand."

"You asked earlier why we travel." Jim explained. "We travel for knowledge, to satiate our curiosity." Jim smiled. He smiled one of his smiles that looked more sad than happy. "Maybe we travel to know we aren't alone in this galaxy."

S'ara patted his hand. She led him to a bench by the waterways. "When I see my people, my children, I know I'm not alone. Do you have any children, Captain?"

Jim laughed. "No, I don't. A star ship isn't a place to raise children." Jim looked at the water. It was not that he did not want children. He loved children. The few times they had been to planets where he interacted with children, he had adored them. However, besides all that there was also the simple thing of not having anyone like that. The closest he came was with Carol Marcus.

They had tried early on in the mission, but time, circumstances and the past had doomed them. They had too much baggage. Carol left for a space station posting during the middle of the five year mission. They never kept in contact. From the sparse long range chatter he received, he knew she wasn't doing weapons research anymore. She had moved on to terraforming.

After that Jim did not try again, as he once told Bones. "I already got a lady in my life, and her name is Enterprise." Bones had given him a funny look.

Maybe while he was dirt side, he would find somebody nice. Somebody who would not mind his need for space. Somebody who would accept being second place to his love for the stars and space travel. He was not good with relationships. He had always been more of a one night stand type guy.

Even with Carol, they never 'slept' together. Oh, they had sex. They had some pretty good sex. They had enough good sex to have resulted in children if Jim was not sterile. Khan's super human blood had restored all his functions minus his sperm count. Any children Jim would have would require a lot of genetic engineering or adoption. Genetic engineering of children had been made illegal in the light of Khan's destruction, so Jim had resigned himself to never having children of his own blood. It was not that he minded. He had come to believe he did not have anything worth passing on anyways.

He sometimes wondered if that was one of the reasons Carol had left him. Admiral Marcus had been her last living relative. She would never be able to have natural children with Jim.

Hell, relationship wise he was the closest to Bones, and Bones... well... that was something Jim tried not to think about. It usually led to a lot of drinking.

He wondered if S'ara and her people were telepaths at that moment. "And the doctor? The one you call 'Bones'."

It sounded so foreign out of someone else's mouth. Scotty had called Bones, Bones, in the initial months that they had known each other. When he mentioned it to Bones, he just looked at Jim funny, but Scotty stopped soon afterwards.

Jim nodded.

"Does your doctor want children?"

He knew Bones loved children, but… He decided for the simpler answer. "Yes, yes he does. I'm sure if Bones wasn't traveling through the stars with me, he would have a whole brood of children." Jim laughed. "He told me his grandparents had enough to form a whole soccer team."

"Soccer team?"

"It's a sport we play on Earth. It involves a lot of running and kicking a ball around. Anyways, there are eleven players per side that play."

S'ara looked impressed. "Formidable."

Jim laughed. He had a similar reaction when Bones told him before their last Christmas at the academy. Jim had wanted to throw a Christmas party, but Bones managed to convince him that a quiet evening would be equally nice. Jim had agreed since it would be their last Christmas at the academy before receiving their postings. Despite Jim’s insistence that they would be posted together, in the back of Jim’s mind he knew there was a miniature chance that they would not be.

Bones had explained. However, even if he had not, Jim would have agreed. The next year they were on the Enterprise, and Jim got his Christmas party. Bones made his grandmother's Yule logs.

That evening, they finally arrived at the castle. It was medieval and old. It reminded Jim of castles from ancient Europe. When he mentioned it to S’ara, she laughed. “I guess in some shape or form, we all gravitate to similar tastes.”

Jim laughed. He could already start to imagine what conversations between S’ara and the top brass would be like. Maybe they could finally overturn the stupid and extremely inconvenient ‘prime directive’. It made everything that much harder.

Like with lunch, Jim was greeted with a large feast. “Are you trying to fatten me up?” Jim jokingly asked as S’ara passed him a large plate.

"This is t'pouk," S'ara said. Jim saw mirth in her eyes. Maybe at that moment he should have known something was wrong, but these people were so hospitable unlike many civilizations he had visited.

"T'pouk," Jim repeated, before scooping up a large helping. He watched as S'ara passed it to one of her advisors. He noticed that only the males took it and only the young males… the ones who weren't guards. Jim wondered if he should mention something.

As they ate, S’ara suggested that one of her sons show him around their empire while his doctor worked on that miracle. Jim agreed. It would allow him to collect data for Starfleet.

“And my crew?” He asked.

S’ara blinked. “I do not understand.”

“Would you agree to allow some more members of my crew to beam down and take samples from your civilization?”

Jim saw S’ara’s eyes darken momentarily. “I would rather limit the interactions, what with how sick my people are.” S’ara brightened again.

“Of course.” Jim smiled back.

After dinner, Jim was shown his quarters. The aide absently mentioned that they had only prepared one room for him and the doctor. It seemed odd since Jim swore the rooms next to him were empty, but he didn't question it. He and Bones had shared a room at the academy for three, two officially and one unofficially because 'Bones, my roommates suck. You're so much better', years. Even on the Enterprise, Bones would frequently fall asleep in his room or him in Bones'. They had seen each other in their underwear and less.

At a result, when Bones returned late that night, Jim, even though he was barely awake, shifted the covers. Bones curled up beside him, and neither man thought anything of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim continues to learn while Bones tries to find the cure.

Bones had already dressed and disappeared by the time Jim woke up the next day. He had left Jim a list of items that he would need from the Enterprise and coordinates for where to send them.

Jim shook his head. He could tell the problem fascinated and frustrated Bones. Bones was as much a researcher as he was a healer. It had been a while since they had visited a planet that required Bones to find a cure for some alien illness much to everyone’s relief. Especially since when if any medical emergencies did occur which required Bones’ expertise, it always involved an incredibly short time frame that divided life and death.

He flipped open his communicator. From the height of the sun in the distance, it looked like it was already deep into alpha shift. He was surprised how long he had been asleep. Normally he rose with the ‘sun’, which in deep space did not really make much sense.

“Kirk to Enterprise.”

“Spock here.” Spock was always prompt. Jim had long learned that Vulcans needed less sleep than humans. Even though Spock was only half human, it seemed his Vulcan genetics gave him many of the Vulcan perks. It was damn useful sometimes when Jim required someone with experience on the bridge, and Bones was demanding that he sleep since he had been awake for too many hours.

“Dr. McCoy and I will be on the planet for longer than planned.”

“Noted Captain. Should I send down more personnel?”

“Negative, Mr. Spock. S’ara is hesitant to expose more of our crew to the disease.”

“Logical.”

“However Dr. McCoy has a list of equipment he would like beamed down.” Jim twisted a couple of buttons on his communicator. “I have sent Dr. McCoy’s list to the Enterprise along with the beam down coordinates.”

Seconds later Spock responded. “Mr. Scott has received them. The medical staff will assemble the items and send them down. What should I tell the crew of our… delay?”

Jim furrowed his brow as he thought of their remaining assignment and return to Earth. “Even if we delay a little while longer, we should still be on schedule if we push our engines.”

“Noted, Captain. “

Jim bit his lips. He knew his crew hated feeling idle. It was one of the reasons he had the best crew in the Federation, and that was not because he was biased. “I also have some initial flora and fauna data in my tricorder from yesterday that I will send up for analysis. Have engineering start detailing all the repair work that the Enterprise requires in addition to her overhaul.” Jim paused for a moment. He knew his next orders were highly non regulatory. “The stellar cartography group mentioned that the star clusters nearby were interesting. Take the Enterprise out of orbit and map out some of the stars systems.”

“Captain?”

“The people here don’t seem hostile. They have subspace communication capability. I’ll contact the Enterprise when Dr. McCoy has discovered the cure.”

“Very well, Captain.”

“Kirk out.” Jim snapped shut his communicator.

And that was that…

Somehow Jim’s life became N’irtha. During the day, he spent it with S'ara or one of her sons. Even after just a day with these people, Jim knew that the Federation would be excited about just trading with S’ara’s people. Their technology was highly advanced despite being so secluded from the rest of the quadrant. It was a wonder how they had not cured the illness themselves.

It seemed the N’irthans also used replication technology except their replicators reminded Jim of the replicators he had seen from those flashes during his mind meld with Old Spock seven years ago. They could replicate clothes, building blocks, and daily necessities.

Their cities ran on nuclear power which surprised Jim. “We haven’t used nuclear power in hundreds of years.”

“Why? It’s very clean and efficient.” F’almer, one of S’ara’s sons, asked. He was S’ara’s oldest son and the one that Jim got along with the best.

Jim wished he had held his tongue. Nuclear fallout had not been a pleasant part of Earth’s history. “Too many dangers.”

“Oh,” F’almer laughed. “We have learned to contain it. Maybe if your kind spent more time on your home world such improvements would be easier?”

Jim laughed. “It’s hard to abandon space travel now that we have it. My people have been racing for the stars for hundreds of years. It fascinates us.”

He saw F’almer bite his lip. “Look.” He pointed at a tree. Jim blinked. “Up there.” F’almer pointed to the top. Jim drew back a breath. At the top was a beautiful pink flower. It was the only flower for such a large tree. It glistened in the sunlight. “This tree only blooms once every one hundred years. If we chased the stars, we would miss the tree’s once a lifetime bloom.”

Jim chuckled. “But if I didn’t, I wouldn’t know such a beauty exists in this world.”

F’almer laughed. He laughed loudly. It was pleasant, jovial laugh. “Fair enough Captain Kirk, fair enough. I think our people would benefit from learning and trading together. I will tell my mother I will support the union.”

Jim’s eyes widened. He felt like a fish out of water. It just caused F’almer to laugh harder. _Damn_. He could not wait until the Federation’s leaders met these people.

Sometime S’ara and his people took him riding on tempoks. They reminded Jim of Earth’s horses. The only difference was they were purple and taller. She showed him her kingdom. N'irtha was a peaceful country. It reminded Jim of Earth's old past and when he mentioned that to S'ara she looked at him strangely.

Jim laughed. "Space travel doesn't always involve traveling through space."

"You've been to the past," S'ara stated.

Jim nodded. "A couple of times."

"Don't you ever worry about affecting the time line? Our ancestors used to travel to the past before we learned better."

"No, we have never affected the timeline enough although temporal investigations would beg to differ."

"Temporal investigations?"

"The Federation is very bureaucratic, not at all like here. It is simpler here." Jim said easily. He was starting to enjoy living on N’irtha. He wondered if this would be what his life would be like once he returned to Earth.

"We are located at the edge of the galaxy as you say, Captain. We don't get many visitors, so our people have fewer influences. The last visitors we had were over fifty years ago."

"That's a long time ago."

"Yes, it was. At the time my grandmother was ruling, and my mother was a young girl." S'ara smiled. "But, maybe things will change soon."

"Yes, maybe," Jim returned the smile. By then Jim knew that everything depended on Bones pulling out a medical breakthrough. More and more of S’ara’s people were becoming sick with the illness. Just yesterday, Jim heard that S’ara’s daughter, the one that was expected to take her place, had fallen ill. He was surprised that S’ara had not cancelled their meeting.

"Come," S'ara tugged on the reigns of her tempok. Her tempok made a sharp turn in a direction they had never gone before. Jim followed. She took him into the forest. The trees in the forest had a strange blue and pink tone unlike the other trees that Jim had seem on this planet. He swore when they dismounted, the trees were pulsating. The air felt electric.

S'ara glided him further along. If he had not been spending so many days with her and knew she and her people were not hostile, he probably would have been worried that he was walking into a trap. They eventually reached a cave. The entrance was hidden behind two very large and opposing pink and blue trees.

She glided him inside. Jim was surprised there was a trail of glowing lights leading the way. However, they did not seem to be man made. In fact, it seemed like the lights were a part of the cave walls. The walls themselves seemed to sparkle and glisten. He could almost touch them if S'ara had not reached for his hand. She shook her head. She did not look upset though.

Jim's eyes widened then they finally exited. There was a waterfall that emptied into a large lake. There were many N'irthans in different states of undress. It reminded Jim of natural spa like on Earth or even on Risa.

"This is the lake of t'pouk."

"T'pouk, like that dish?" Jim asked. The dish that S'ara’s people had been serving him since the first night he arrived. He was starting to get tired of t'pouk. The strange thing was it never looked or tasted the same. Sometime it was solid, and other times it was liquid. It did not help that his universal translator failed to translate the word into standard, so he had come to assume t'pouk probably didn't mean 'chicken' or 'fish' or anything that simple.

S'ara laughed. "No, we call anything that comes from this lake t'pouk. All those dishes that contain something from this lake, we call t’pouk."

"Oh." Jim nodded. It was strange, but he had seen and heard stranger.

"Would you like to soak your feet in it?" S'ara asked. "Bathe?"

"Err." He knew if Bones were here he would probably state a thousand reasons why he should not: unhygienic, strange alien concoction, or some other reason that would lead to his eyeballs bleeding out or something. He had been on N'irtha for a while now, and he had not had any severe allergic reactions. His stomach had not betrayed him.

Besides he was here to forge bonds. They were spending more time on N’irtha than Starfleet or Jim had wanted or planned. The longer he stayed, the less likely Starfleet would accept a failed mission. "Okay."

S'ara smiled.

He pulled off his Starfleet issued boots and socks. He rolled up his pant legs before sinking his feet into the water. The water was cool. It felt surprisingly good. He looked up and saw S'ara hovering overhead. She had a pleased look on her face.

"How is it?"

The water seemed to lap at his ankles. It surrounded every inch of his bare skin that he had exposed to the water. It almost seemed to be almost alive. "Nice," he managed to say.

In hindsight at that moment, when Jim Kirk saw the twinkle in S’ara’s eyes, he really should have been more wary. “How about a bath? Isn’t it a little warm today?”

Jim blinked. It was a little warm. The water was alluring. He found himself stripping out of his Starfleet issued uniform and slipping into the water as naked as on his name day. The water lapped further and further around him. It felt like it was encasing him. He felt a strange tingly sensation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bones puts his medical skills to the test then afterwards Jim and Bones commit an act they have done many times...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that was a huge delay. I accidentally got carried away and signed up for too many holiday exchanges and challenges. One of which I'm still trying to finish. 
> 
> However, after months of delay, here's finally the next chapter. The next chapter should be out sooner since most of it is already written.
> 
> There is some medical trauma in this chapter hence the updated tags.

They left the sacred pool some time later. They were on their return journey when one of S’ara aides pulled up. The look on his face and his tempok’s indicated that he had been riding long and hard.

“Your eminence,” he immediately dropped his head.

“What it is A’tlan?” Jim noted the worry lines that marred her face.

“It’s S’aren. He has quickened. The high healer and the doctor from the stars are with him…” Jim noted the disdain in his voice as he mentioned Bones, but not by name.

“Take us to him.”

*********

Jim thought he was going to be taken back to the building S'ara had taken him to the first day. Instead he was taken back to the palace. He watched as S'ara burst through the door. He quickly followed. Bones looked to be engaged in a shouting match with what Jim could only guess was the N'irthan doctor.

Really, if he had not known Bones for a decade, he would have thought Bones was undoing everything they were here for, peace treaties not wars. However, Jim did know his CMO, and he knew Bones would only fume, rage and shout like this if something was really wrong.

Bones and the doctor both turned at the sound of their entrance.

"What in H'eraian's name is going on," S'ara stated. "This is a birthing chamber, not a war zone."

It was only then did Jim notice the N'irthan on what appeared to be a medieval torture device. He did a double take at the N’irthan’s large, swollen abdomen. But most of all, it was a male N'irthan.

"With all due respect and no dishonor to your culture, he is dying. This doctor will not allow me to save him or the child." Bones stated. He crossed his arms.

"I am sorry your eminence," the healer hobbled forward. "You should not need to witness this. I told this doctor from the stars that this is not his affairs. That curing the plague is his only affairs.”

“This man has the plague.” Bones injected, quickly.

“He does not understand our ways."

Jim saw the scowl deepen on Bones' face. Jim opened his mouth. He closed it when he saw S'ara walk over to the man and his partner. She placed her hand over his stomach and spoke softly to the man. Jim saw the laboring man’s eyes widen before looking away. She turned towards Bones and the doctor. "Please leave us T’mair."

T'mair seemed to be the name of the doctor in question. He opened his mouth before hastily closing it. "Yes your eminence," the doctor hurried out, leaving only Jim, Bones, S'ara and the young couple.

S’ara looked at Bones and then Jim. She sighed. "As eminence of my people I should agree with T'mair that this is not your affair. My people believe that child birth is a rite, a gift from the gods. Something we should not interfere with."

Bones opened his mouth.

"However, as your captain has shown me since your appearance here, there are other cultures and other beliefs in this universe. As a mother, I wish for you to save my son; however..." She paused and sighed. "Due to our genetics, I fear this is beyond your help Doctor McCoy."

"Let me try." Bones implored. Bones had brought Jim back to life. He could easily do this.

S'ara nodded.

"Mother," the N'irthan man spoke for once. Jim noticed his throat had already swollen up. He remembered it happening once long ago.

For a human woman, it meant the onset of preeclampsia. One of his ensigns developed it during her labor very early into their five year mission.  They had been too far into deep space to transfer her off the Enterprise at the time. 

Jim Kirk remembered every death that happened under his command. However that death and the moments leading up and after it he remembered vividly.

Since the new millennium, female mortality during birth had decreased. However Jim remembered the fear in Bones' eyes as the labor drew out longer and longer. He remembered the fetal heart rate dropping. He remembered the young ensign's heart rate increasing.

He remembered the ensign's husband dropping to the floor, pleading to Bones to save his wife. He was in engineering. They had been one of the first couples he had married upon receiving his captaincy. He remembered the elation that replaced the fear in the eyes after they realized Jim was not going to report them to the admiralty when they finally confessed to him that they were expecting. He remembered the night when they asked him to be their unborn child's godfather. It was the first time Jim Kirk had been speechless.

He remembered the blood, all the blood that poured from the young ensign. He remembered it soaking Bones and the nurse who was helping him. He remembered the bio bed flashing. He remembered the alarms. He remembered the sobbing. He remembered Bones turning to look at him, shouting at him to take her husband out of the room. He remembered pulling the young engineer from sick bay as his wife flat lined, as the life drain from her eyes.

As Jim looked at Bones, he wondered if Bones remembered that night. However, Bones did not look back. He was already in doctor mode.

He had already pulled out his medical tricorder.

"If the god's will it, I am ready to die."

Jim saw S'ara bend down to her son's side. He watched the hard woman who governed a civilization soften and tenderly pushed back her son's hair.

He suddenly felt like an intruder, an interloper. "Jim, where is the Enterprise?" Bones' voice cut through silence.

Jim turned. "Two days out." He suddenly regretted ever telling Spock to take the Enterprise out of orbit.

"Damn," Leonard muttered. He rolled up his sleeves. "Guess we have to do this the old fashion way. Let's get him on the bed."

"The bed," the partner finally spoke. Jim forgot he was still here.

"Is there something wrong with the bed?" Bones grouched out.

"Our people never birth children on beds or on their backs."

"Wonderful." Leonard rolled his eyes. "Do you want his death?"

"I do not fear death," the N'irthan male said again.

"Then think of the baby," Leonard spat out. "I once helped a royal princess deliver her baby. She was just as stubborn if not more so than you." Leonard waved his fingers. "I know our beliefs are different, but even the lowest, most basic living creature wants their children to survive."

The young couple looked at each other than at S'ara.

"The child will be part of the royal family. He cannot be born on a bed."

Jim could see the scowl forming on Bones' face. The barest of twitches from his eyebrows, he threw up his arms in defeat.

He rolled up his sleeves. "Fine." He turned to Jim at that moment. "Jim, I'll need your help then, all of you." He looked at S'ara, the laboring man and his partner. They all nodded.

"I'll need you all to help support him," Bones started as he flipped open his medical pouch. Jim's eyes widened as he saw Bones pull out a laser scalpel. He was going to cut the child out. He knew Bones thought cutting open his patients were barbaric and belonged in the dark ages. He had only performed a Caesarian a hand full of times.

"What is that for?" S'ara stated. Jim could detect the alarm in her voice.

"His pelvis is too narrow for the child. It's been impacted. I need to extract the child." Bones' explained kindly, more kindly than Jim thought possible. The confusion on the N'irthan's faces suddenly made Jim wonder if this was never done before.

"As in cut him open," Bones waved him hands. Jim wondered if Bones noticed the tension in the room. "On Earth, it was something frequently done in the past."

S'ara looked down at her son and then at Jim. Jim wondered if it was tears in her eyes. He wondered if he saw fear.

The door opened again. It was the N'irthan doctor that Bones had been arguing with before. Jim narrowed his eyes.

"Sorry eminence, I could not stand by and do nothing." T'mair started. "My actions were uncalled for. I will submit myself for punishment."

S'ara nodded. "Of course."

T'mair nodded his head towards Bones who was still holding his laser knife. "I have seen the marvels of your medicines, doctor from the stars; however, unless that instrument can cut through materials harder than diamonds it will not work."

Jim saw the worry in Bones' eyes.

"Damn," Bones muttered. "The easiest solutions never work."

"Doctor," S'ara started. Jim noted how pale she suddenly looked. He wondered if she would topple over herself. "Do you still require your captain's assistance?"

Bones seemed to notice her pale complexion. "No, no... Doctor… T'mair," he narrowed his eyes at the N'irthan doctor and S'lack..." He nodded at the laboring man's partner. "Will be enough."

"Thank you," S'ara flashed a smile. She looked at her son one more time before walking over to Jim with more strength than Jim thought she could possibly still possess. "Come Captain, let your doctor work his magic." Jim looked up at Bones. Bones seemed to have already forgotten he was there.

S'ara led him to an alcove. She sat down and patted the space beside her. "Sit with me, Jim Kirk."

It was not an order. It was barely a request. Jim sat down next to S'ara. She looked older than ever, even with half of her citizens stricken by the plague. Jim wondered vaguely why Bones was even here instead of working on the cure, but this was Bones. Bones, who like him, did not believe in Spock’s belief of how the needs of many outweighed the needs of the few. Bones probably saw this life as equally important. Bones, who was equally as stubborn as Jim, did not believe in leaving anyone behind.

"A parent should never have to outlive their children."

"Bones will save him." It was the only thing Jim could say. His relationship with his mother had always been rocky, and he never even known his father. However, he knew that if he was ever lucky enough to ever have children he would never be like his parents.

S'ara laughed. "I wish I could share your sentiments. S'aren is my youngest. He was born after all my sons and daughters had long grown. I remember them laying him in my arms. He was so small and tiny not like my other sons who were so strong..."

Jim let her continue talking. He learned a long time ago that was the best way.

What seemed like hours later they finally heard it.

The cry of a baby...

His grandmother once told him it was most precious sound in the world. At that moment, Jim had to agree. He heard the sigh escape from S'ara's lips.

The door opened soon afterwards. They both looked upwards. Out stepped Bones with a tiny bundle in his arms. He looked tired; however, his expression was otherwise masked. Bones walked over to them.

"Doctor?" S'ara asked.

Bones bent down a little. "Meet your grandson."

S'ara let out a little gasp. She pulled the edge of the blanket away from the child's face. A little baby boy with fuzzy auburn hair and a small button nose was sleeping peacefully in Bones' arms.

"Would you like to hold your grandson?"

"Grandson," S'ara muttered. Her smile could not be any larger as Bones shifted the infant into her arms. The infant did not even awake to the movement, in fact the only indication that the child was even alive was the faint exhale and inhale of his breath.

Jim looked at Bones. Unlike the Bones he was used to, this Bones' face looked softer and younger than it had in a long time. "S'aren?" S'ara spoke up. "How's S'aren?"

Jim saw Bones press his lips together before letting out a long sigh. "He lost a lot of blood. T'mair and S'lack are with him now. I... I should get back to him. Would you like to see him?"

S'ara nodded. She stepped past Bones. As Bones turned to follow, Jim pulled on his sleeve.

"Jim?" He wondered if Bones forgot he was still there.

"How is he, truthfully, Bones?"

"Can't keep anything from you can I?"

"No..."

"It's not good, Jim. He lost a lot of blood. We had to break his pelvic bone to extract the child. He's in a lot of shock, compounded by the plague."

"But you can save him?" Jim almost pleaded.

"I can try..."

"You saved me from death once, Bones."

"I ain't got Khan's super blood anymore, Jim. I'm just a simple country doctor."

Jim laughed. It never sounded so hollow. "You've never been a simple country doctor, Bones."

"I'll see you later, Jim." With that Bones left.

XXXXXXXXXXX

When Jim finally returned to his room, it never felt emptier. As he pulled off his shirt, he realized this was the first time since their arrival he had spoken or seen Bones. Bones always returned late. He would curl up beside him in their single bed, and then would wake up and leave very early.

It was not that he did not know what Bones was doing. Bones usually left a report for him to read. It was very technical. It categorized his findings and results. Bones was always meticulous.

He was starting to feel guilty. He knew Bones was working hard to save these people while Jim found himself relaxing. Sure, he was learning more and more about this planet, but unless he could convince S'ara to accept the trade agreements, he would have failed his assignment. The more he learned about this civilization. The more he wanted these people to join the Federation or at least agree to trade with them. There were so many things they could learn from each other.

As he sank into the bed, he noticed a bottle on the night stand. It had not been there this morning when he left. He pulled it closer. There was a large label with the words 't'pouk' written on it. Jim laughed.

It did not take his genius level IQ for Jim to know what it was. It seemed like with most civilizations. They all shared one thing in common. He pulled the stopper out of the bottle. He was greeted by a pleasant aroma. His smile got wider. He picked up the glass nearby and poured himself two fingers. His mom had taught him manners. He took a deep drink. He sighed. It tasted good.

He had nearly emptied the bottle when the door slid open. He looked up startled.  This was the earliest Bones had returned since their arrival.  However the moment Bones stepped into the room.  Jim felt his stomach lurch upwards before crashing back down.  His vision shifted.  

Bones, after knowing him for so long, was immediately hovering over him.  Jim felt his heart ache at the warmth that radiated from Bones' body and at Bones' touch as the older man grabbed his shoulder blades.  It was electric.  

He felt his cock twitch. _God, he wanted. He really wanted._

Maybe he should have realized something was off when instead of asking Bones about S’aren’s status or anything else he lunged at his best friend of nearly a decade.  He fumbled with Bones' blue Starfleet issued medical shirt. He suddenly hated how tight it was around the other man.

"Bones, please."

Bones' eyes widened. Jim saw a swirl of colors: a conglomeration of ambers, greens and browns. They changed depending on his mood and the color of his clothes. Today they were a deep shade of green with a twinge of amber near the edges.

"Jim," Bones pulled back. He looked at him suspiciously. "You're drunk." He reached for the nearly empty bottle. "Jim, what the fuck did I tell you about suspicious bottles from alien worlds?"

Bones’ rants should have turned him off. For a normal person it would have, but not Jim. It just made him harder. "Bones," Jim whined. God was he hard. He reached down and palmed himself through his pants.

"Jim..." Bones set his hands back on his shoulders’ blades. It made his skin burn.

Jim pulled away and flashed Bones his fever bright blue eyes. "I ain't drunk. Come on Bones.” He smirked. He knew Bones loved it. Men and women braver than Leonard McCoy could not say no when Jim Kirk flashed his charms. “Let’s celebrate. Don't you remember our little 'tradition'?" He smirked. His blue eyes flashed brighter.

"Unbelievable." Bones rolled his eyes. "How the fuck did you know we finally found the cure?"

Jim wiggled his eyebrows. His smirk grew wider. “A man never tells his secrets.”

“Jim…”

Jim practically purred. He placed his hand on Bones’ hips to draw him closer. He worked his fingers under Bones' black undershirt. Bones let out a moan as Jim ran his fingers over his ribs.

"Jim..." Bones’ voice softened. The annoyance disappeared.

"Please." Jim whispered. "I need you inside me."

He saw Bones' eyes widened. Jim tugged harder.  He ran his tongue over his lips before crashing them against Bones’ shoulder blades.  Jim worked his tongue over each bump and ridge.  He tugged at the folds of Bones' skin, working to leave his mark. Bones never put up a fight.  He never really wondered why.

Bones pressed his body down over Jim’s. He fumbled with his shirt and hastily kicked off his pants. Jim hissed at the size of Bones’ cock as it touched his skin. It was already hard and leaking. He saw Bones smirking at him before he sank his teeth into the side of Jim’s neck. Jim moaned as Bones suck down. Sometimes Bones was just evil.

“Bones… Bones…” Jim muttered chanting the doctor’s name as if it was a mantra. In his euphoric haze, he saw Bones skillfully reach for a bottle of medicinal lube from his medical supplies without breaking contact. He groaned as he felt Bones’ slick fingers enter him one at a time. Slowly… painfully slow as he opened him up. He felt Bones’ fingers press against his sphincter and gloss over the circle of muscles.

“I got you,” Bones muttered, his voice thick with his Georgian drawl. His toes curled as he felt Bones, slowly, achingly slow press into him.

“Bones,” Jim moaned as Bones moved faster and faster. Bones’ pupils were full blown now. Jim could feel the layer of sweat coursing down his back. The greens of his irises never looked greener. His lips were lush and red. He longed to grab the back of Bones’ neck and kiss and suck them. He longed to part his lips and taste his scent and smell. He used to dream about what Bones tasted like…

It was the only boundary they never crossed in whatever it was they did.  

His vision grayed out, and he let out a cry of relief as he went over the edge. He felt Bones’ seed spill inside of him, sticky and potent, although for them it would mean nothing. As Bones collapsed against his chest, his scent warm and comforting, Jim found himself wishing… wishing for the one thing that he could not have, that he never really thought about.

He found himself lying in that bed and staring into the darkness.

“They named him L’eo,” Bones muttered what seemed like hours later. His voice was deeper and thicker. It was enough to draw Jim out of his thoughts. He turned his head. His breath nearly caught at the sight before him. Of Bones with his messy, not regulation length hair, that was draped across his startlingly green eyes and his muscular arms that were glistening with sweat which he was resting his cheeks against. The red mark on his shoulder glared tauntingly back at him, for like the mark and what had just transpired would both disappear. Jim’s face clouded over. “The baby,” Bones explained further.

Jim immediately pulled himself out of his own thoughts. “Oh shit, I forgot. How’s S’aren?”

Bones snorted. The sides of his eyes crinkled. Jim loved these late night conversations with Bones. They used to have them all the time at the academy, when life was simpler and it was just Jim and Bones against the universe and there were not hundreds of crewmen whose lives depended on his decision…

“He’s strong. He lost a lot of blood, but he’ll survive. He won’t have any more children though.”

“That’s… good.”

“Yeah…”

He thought Bones had fallen asleep after that. “How you know I cured the plague, Jim?”

_Bones never left anything go._

“The wine,” Jim replied easily.

He did not even have to turn his head to know that Bones’ eyebrow shot up at that moment. “Unbelievable...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope the Jim and Bones bedroom scene at the end didn't read as dub-con. It wasn't supposed to. That scene was actually what caused this chapter to delay so much. I don't want to explain too much since it would be touched upon in later chapters. 
> 
> I hope it's clear that they have done it many times. In this verse, Jim and Bones have a 'friends with benefits' thing going on dating back to their time at the academy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Bones are in for a surprise...

Maybe it was because Jim had spent too long among S’ara and her people. Maybe he had just become too complacent or too trusting of everything. Whatever was the reason, when Jim finally awoke the next day, it had taken him much longer than Bones to finally drift off to sleep, it was nearly midday. He awoke to a parched throat and sore bottom. No matter how gentle Bones was, he was always gentle in his ministrations, it had been too goddamn long since the last time.

“You’re awake,” Bones’ gruff voice cut through the silence he had grown accustomed to.

Jim blinked, confused. He was used to awaking to an empty room and silence. He looked around, confused. He found Bones lacing up his boots on the edge of the bed. He was leaning slightly over so that a bare sliver of skin was exposed. Jim felt his morning wood harden. He fidgeted uncomfortably underneath the covers. He suddenly decided to never let it get so god damn long again.

“Jim?” Bones’ eyebrow shot upwards.

Someday he was definitely to ask Bones to teach him how he did that with those eyebrows.

“Wha?” He finally managed to gasp out.

Jim only succeeded in causing the lines on Bones’ face to become even more furrowed. “Why are you still here?” He finally managed to form a coherent sentence.

The scowl that Jim had long grown accustomed to appear on Bones’ face. Jim rarely caused Bones to scowl. He had a way of causing him to become frustrated; however, he rarely made him angry.

Instead of answering, Bones dumped a scroll on his lap. Jim looked down at it before looking back up at Bones. “What?”

“Did you forget how to read too?” Bones asked. Jim could detect the slight frustration in Bones’ voice.

“No,” Jim retorted indignantly. He picked on the scroll and immediately recognized S’ara’s seal at the bottom of the page. He looked at it questionably. It could make out a few of the N’irthan words. They had been teaching him; however, most of it Jim could not read. It was not that he had been bad at xenolinguistics at the academy. In fact, had he not been set on command, he could have made a fine communication officer, not that he was ever going to tell Uhura that.

Bones rolled his eyes before tossing Jim his PADD. “You read it already,” Jim commented as he turned on the PADD. The universal translator symbol was rotated freely on the screen.

Bones shrugged his shoulders.

“Why didn’t you just tell me what it said then?”

Bones shrugged his shoulders again.

Jim hated when Bones got like this.

However, he was not going to let Bones see his frustration. Instead he passed the translator over the scroll.

“Seriously!” Jim groaned when he finished reading the translations. When he looked up, Bones was straightening the strap of his medical pouch across his shoulders.

“What did you expect, Jim? Like I always said, the only constant in this universal is the bureaucratic mentality.”

“You always say that?” Jim asked warily as he set the scroll down on their night stand. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“I got patients to see, and you can help me.”

Jim groaned before flopping back down on the bed.

XXXXXXXXXXX

They had been on Beta Micron V for nearly a month at that point. Every morning, the exact same scroll was delivered to their bedroom door with the exact same message. They had long stopped reading the contents of the scroll. The words were always the same. The high counsel was on recess.

Jim woke up that morning queasy. As he stretched, he noticed a trail of dried, brown blood on the sheets in the area between his legs.

Jim's first and only thoughts as they dressed for the day was they should not have done it without lube. He regretted not using his captain rights to request M'Benga or one of the younger doctors or nurses to beam them down some replacements the last time Spock checked in.

That morning when the scroll did not appear at their doorstep, Bones raised an eyebrow, confused. Jim shrugged.

They proceeded to the throne room where for once the doors were not sealed. They were greeted by smiling faces.

S'ara immediately stood up. She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Jim. "Congratulations! The prophecy does not lie." She pulled away before kissing him on both sides of his cheeks.

It startled Jim. It was first time S’ara had greeted him in such a way. "Thank you,” Jim started. He suddenly felt vaguely guilty as the next words left his lips. “The treaty..."

S'ara smile did not waver. Instead her smile only widened. At least he had not offended her. That would be the last thing that he wanted to do at this poinr. Spock was already advising him that it might be best to abort the mission. However, Jim was stubborn. He did not take defeat lightly, especially not after all the time they had already invested.

"Of course, such a joyous occasion will be marked with the signing of the treaty, and we will formally submit a petition to join the Federation."

"Joyous occasion?"

"Of course!" S'ara clapped her hands together. "The arrival of the future... The coming of the child..."

Jim smiled. _Of course._ "I never did formally congratulate you..."

S’ara blinked. She looked momentarily confused before laughing. "No, no. It is I who should congratulate you… you and the doctor..." She nodded at Bones, who had been surprisingly quiet this whole time.

She lowered her hands to Jim's abdomen. As S'ara cupped her hands on both sides, Jim became aware of the thin layer of fat that he started to accumulate there. He had not notice until that very moment. He had been slacking off his exercise regime since this mission started. "Yes, I can hear them. Their tiny heartbeats, they are so warm."

“Now wait just a minute," Bones barked before Jim could even comprehend the words S’ara were saying. Jim watched from the corner of his eyes as Bones stepped forward. "Your genetics may allow for male pregnancies, but for humans that is impossible." Bones waved his hands furiously. The same hands that just last night had been wrapped around the base of Jim’s cock. Jim’s face flashed red as he immediately looked up.

"Do not insult our eminence," an N'irthan male spoke up. The voice belonged to the man who had been standing the closest to S’ara. Jim had never spoken to that man before nor been formally introduced; however, N'irthan politics meant that he was of high rank.

S'ara did not immediately respond. Instead she was still looking reverently down at Jim’s stomach.

When she did speak, it was like a mother to her child. "It is fine, T'pek. These men still do not comprehend all of the wonders of our world.”

“Of course, your eminence,” T’pek responded quickly.

S’ara pulled away from him. “Captain, as gratitude for saving our people, our gods have blessed you and your lover…" She smiled at Bones.

"Lover..." Jim spluttered out.

"Of course. We could the feel the love palpating between you two." She smiled fondly. "Only that type of love could have created such magnificent children."

Jim laughed. That was all he could do was laugh. This had to be a joke, a large elaborate joke.

S'ara and Bones looked at him bewildered. Jim could visibly see a nerve pulsating on the side of Bones' neck.

"No, really, what is the joyous occasion?" Jim asked when he finally stopped laughing.

"I do not understand." S'ara frowned.

"S'ara, I can't be pregnant." Jim said simply. "Even if we discount everything about basic human anatomy, it just isn’t possible. Six years ago, I was involved in an accident.”

_The warp core…_

Even now, Jim had still had nightmares about dying against that window.

“It left me sterile." He finally finished.

"Oh," The smile returned to S'ara face. "T'pouk healed you." She said those words as if it was common knowledge.  As if someone was telling Jim, the sun back on Earth always set on the west.  "Your children will..."

"Children," Bones choked out. He could tell that Bones' blood pressure was rising. Bones had started to become more and more receptive of most alien medical practices over the years. However, he still grew indignant when they visited civilizations that did not understand the basics of hand washing, but Bones had come a long way since their academy days. However, it was obvious that S'ara proclamations were straining even Bones' new found will power. Jim knew Bones was itching to reach for his tricorder.

"We had assumed the prophecy meant twins." S'ara waved her hands. "However it seems your kind has a tendency to duplicate."

"Triplets then."

Jim wondered how much of this Bones believed.

"Quadruplets actually." S'ara smiled. "Today they have finally taken root. I see you do not believe me, Doctor." She nodded at Bones' medical tricorder that was strapped to his side. "I believe that can deduce your lover carries the necessary equipment at least."

Bones flinched. He looked at Jim. Jim nodded. Bones stepped forward. He waved the tricorder across Jim’s stomach. Bones visibly paled.

"Bones..."

Bones declined to respond. He instead turned his tricorder. On the screen, Jim saw the data for organs that he knew he should not have.

"The lower extremities haven't formed yet." S'ara added.

"Lower extremities..."

"The birth canal..."

Bones pulled back his tricorder. "If there really are four babies." Jim just knew Bones wanted to raise his eyebrows. "It will be completely, utterly dangerous. Human males can't carry a baby, let alone four. Even for a human female, there are complications with higher order pregnancies.” Bones groused.

S'ara smiled. "That is perfectly fine. Your time here must have shown you that we are known for multiples. Our gods are generous. They do not give us more than we can handle.”

"That is not the point. His internal organs, his skin..."

"Our studies show the human body is quite elastic and fluid. However we can offer our assistance on the day of the joyous occasion."

Bones narrowed his eyes. He looked murderous. Jim wondered why he did not feel murderous. After all it was his body. However the words S'ara had spoken. Their love made the babies... love...

_Did Bones love him?_

Jim was sure the only explanation was that S'ara had to be somewhat telepathic. "You both must want to talk, celebrate."

"We really should be leaving." Bones exclaimed. _When had Bones taken over the situation? He was the captain damn it._

"Leaving... Nonsense, today we feast in celebration of the coming of the new era together. Tomorrow, we sign the trade agreement. Surely, that is what your people want, correct?”

Jim instantly noted the diplomatic intonations return in S’ara’s voice.

_God fucking damn it._

They somehow found themselves back in their quarters. Bones had rigged up a rudimentary bio bed with the equipment he had requested from Spock to find a cure.

Jim found himself on the bed in his Starfleet issued socks. He felt so absurd that Bones would let him keep his socks on. He was not even sure what Bones was doing anymore. He wondered if even after 'dying' in the wrap core Bones had run this many tests. At this point, he wondered if Bones was just dousing him with hypo sprays because he could.

_Didn't Bones have to swear some oath to do no harm or something?_

However the image on the Bones' PADD, the pear shaped organ that he definitely should not have, spoke volumes. He did not need any fancy medical degrees to know what that was.

Bones had picked up the bottle of 't'pouk' that he had been drinking the night before and was furiously scanning the liquid residues with his medical tricorder. He wondered if he should mention to Bones he had been drinking and eating ‘t’pouk’ since they arrived on N’irtha.

"Genetic re-sequencing..." Bones grumbled.

"Huh?"

"This bottle is laced with enzymatic microbots. The little buggers have been fucking targeting your reproductive glands."

"Huh?"

"Genetic and hormonal therapy... Jesus how long have you been drinking this stuff?"

"Since that night you found the cure," Jim answered sheepishly. He definitely was not going to mention how he bathed in a pool of it or all the dishes he had been eating.

"Jesus H. Christ, haven't I warned you for the last..." Bones sighed.

Jim kicked off on the balls of his feet. "So Bones," Jim propped himself on his elbow. "Did you knock me up?" He waved his hand over his abdomen. "Am I carrying your babies?"

Bones rolled his eyes before finally letting out a ‘Damnit Jim!’

Before Jim could respond, a gaggle of young men entered their room. Jim was not sure Bones’ eye brows could raise any higher when they surrounded him. He did not need his universal translator to know they wanted him to follow them.

He hopped off the bed easily. As he followed them out the door, he heard Bones yell out at him. He decidedly chose not to answer.

As they walked, Jim noticed that they all seemed to be in varying stages of pregnancy. A suddenly unpleasant thought that this would be him in a couple of months coursed through his body.

He was surprised when they led him down to the depth of the castle. It seemed the castle was built on an underground lake. "Bathe," one of the men said simply.

Jim did feel hot and sticky. The water was not glowing or anything. He placed his feet into the water. It was tepid. "Go on," another urged.

_Besides at this point, what else could possibly happen?_

Jim nodded. He stripped off his socks and stepped in. The waters lapped over his body. It felt nice. Water was rare on the Enterprise. As captain he was given access to a larger surplus of running water along with a sonic.

Still he missed taking long baths or even swimming. Here, the pool looked as large as the Olympic size swimming pools that existed back on earth. The N’irthans who had led him here seemed to have dispersed. There was only one nearby. He did not seem in a hurry. Jim was not one to let an opportunity pass him by. He drove into the water, submerging himself completely.

He felt like a fish.

He was surprised the water was so clear. He could see so far. He saw different rocks and colorful coral formations. He wondered how deep it was and vaguely entertained the idea of going deeper. However, when he felt his lungs straining, god when he younger he could stay down for a solid two minutes. He broke through the surface quickly and found himself gasping for air.

He was met with a stern Bones looking grumpy down at him. He had swum towards the opposite bank. "Jim, what the fuck are you doing?"

Bones had not acted any differently after S'ara's proclamations of their love. Or maybe Bones was just avoiding it. Jim could accept that. He was good at avoiding issues about feelings. Hell, he had done it for nearly ten years.

"Swimming?"

"In an unknown body of water."

Jim swam closer. Trending water, he looked up sheepishly.

"That oh so innocent ‘wine’ in our room gave you that uterus. Who knows what could be in this water."

"Relax Bones. It's a gift."

"Gift," Bones scoffed. He waved his tricorder. "You have high HCG levels. You aren't supposed to have high HCG levels."

Jim eyed the N’irthan in the room with them. He seemed completely disinterested. Jim wondered if N’irthans had an acute sense of hearing like the Vulcans. Jim stepped out of the water. He flicked away a drop of liquid from his hairline. He slapped Bones on the shoulder. "Bones, Bones ... Bones... Lighten up man. I'm the one with the uterus and other organs that I should not have, and even I don't think the world had imploded."

"You're also probably pregnant," Bones added. “We can’t be sure for another few days.”

Jim rolled his eyes. "Anything else you would like to share with the class?"

"I still haven't figured out how it could have happened."

Jim smirked. "Now that one I know." Jim wiggled his eyebrows. "We had sex. Lots of it."

"Infant."

"Hey, I take offense to that."

"I don't know what type of sex education you had..."

"Hey. I'll have you know I had great sex ed. I've never knocked up any alien or female before unlike..." Jim smirked. "Somebody."

Bones snorted. "Your first officer would say otherwise."

Jim groaned. If Spock found out, Jim decided at that moment Spock was never going to find out.

"Somehow these N’irthans got you pregnant."

Jim shook his head. "No Bones. You got me pregnant as they so kindly said. Because of our loove..." Jim smirked.

Bones rolled his eyes. "Infant." Bones still refused to acknowledge the ‘l’ words. He sat down. Jim rolled his eyes before stepping back into the pool. He swam around for a couple more laps. After each lap, he looked back at the shoreline to find Bones still fiddling with his tricoder. Bones was probably trying to find a solution, unlike Jim.

Jim…

Jim did not even know anymore. When it came to his own will being, he found himself caring less. He floated on his back for a long time. He started to count the stalactite formations that hung above him.

However, when the N’irthans escorted them out of the cleansing pool, Jim wondered why he felt his heart sinking. He barely registered them covering him with a robe.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath... and Jim and Bones finally return to the Enterprise.

It was another two days before Jim finally completed his mission. After a night of ‘celebrating’, Jim and S’ara drew up the trade agreements. He also started the paperwork necessary for S’ara’s people to petition to join the Federation.

When they were finally ready to leave Beta Micron V, it was via shuttle craft. Bones had taken Jim's communicator away before he could ask for beam up.

"Spock, send down a shuttle." Bones barked.

" _Dr. McCoy_." Spock’s no-nonsense voice filtered through.

_Some things never changed._

Bones glared at him. It seemed that was all Bones was capable of lately.

Jim sighed. "Yes Spock, you heard the doctor. Please send down a shuttle to our coordinates."

Jim knew it was because Bones was not sure how the transporter would handle Jim's shifting genetics despite the N’irthan’s insistence that it was blessing and had been happening since the dawn of time. However, that did not mean Bones had to take it out on him or Spock. After all, it was definitely not all his fault.

His last scans showed his body was still altering. Luckily, they were all still interior changes. Jim did not even want to think about when they started to become exterior.

The moment the shuttle landed in the Enterprise’s shuttle bay, Bones disappeared. They had not spoken much of anything after their confrontation on the side of the N’irthan pool. As a result, Jim was left to deal with Spock’s eyebrow raise when Bones brushed by.

“Captain?”

“Let’s get out of here, Spock,” Jim responded, curtly. He did not mean to sound angry, but damn it he really did not want to deal with Spock’s nonchalance at that moment. He pressed the PADD containing the trade agreements into Spock’s hands.

Any other time he would have said he needed a drink.

He still did not believe S’ara, or maybe he did not want to believe her. However, whether or not he believed or did not believe, he still could not chance it. As a result, for once he could not say he needed a drink and was going to see Bones. Because if he could get that drink, he would not even be in this state and Bones would not have gone and disappeared.

“Yes, Captain,” Spock answered. “I will have Lieutenant Uhura transmit these documents back to Starfleet Command then.”

“You do that, Spock.” At this moment, Jim really could not care. In fact, all he really wanted to do was go back to his quarters and scream and throw something. However, he was the captain. He could not do any of those things. He had a crew. He had to lead them back home. His own predicament would have to wait.

“Were there any complications?” Spock asked again as the door to the turbo lift slid shut.

At that moment, Jim really wished his first officer was not a Vulcan. As much he trusted the man, and that itself had been a long time coming, Jim wished Spock was better at reading humans. Most others would have noticed that he did not want to talk, and something probably had gone awry. However, this was Spock.

Instead Jim chose not to answer because he really did not have to answer. Thankfully, he was spared from further inquiries or Spock’s stare as the turbo lift slid open to reveal the bridge. Jim found himself visibly relaxing at seeing the familiar sight. The shining, silver monitors that even after all these years still beckoned to him.

He felt the most at home on the bridge. It was where he belonged. He belonged among the stars, in his chair, with his crew, on his silver lady.

He smiled when Chekov chirped out the familiar ‘Captain on the bridge’.

As he slipped into his chair, Beta Micron V was already a distant memory.

And that was fine by Jim.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

_Quadruplets... four babies..._

He could maybe see himself raising one baby but four. Jim squirmed in his chair. He never felt more uncomfortable, and he had never felt uncomfortable in his chair before. He could normally sit in it for hours, but lately he did not even want to get out of bed in the mornings. He was starting to long for their impending arrival at Jupiter Station. Not to mention, he could have sworn his pants felt a little tighter around his hips.

He had to be imagining things. He was not even a month along.

_Oh god..._

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his palms.

Then there was the other thing he definitely did not want to think about.

Bones had locked himself inside one of his research labs since they arrived back on the Enterprise. He had not even left it to sleep. He knew because M’Benga had been the one submitting the daily reports to him. By all rights, Jim could have ordered Bones to see him, but this was Bones…

"Captain?"

Jim looked up to see his first officer hovering overhead. He had not even heard Spock step forward. "Yes, Mr. Spock?"

"You look unwell, sir. Is everything okay?"

Jim wanted to rave and shout that everything was not okay. His CMO had knocked him up. There were four new passengers aboard the Enterprise. However Jim did not say any of those things. Instead Jim Kirk bit his lower lip and smiled that infamous, diplomatic smile that had made him a legend in this quadrant of the universe. "Everything is okay, Mr. Spock. Just a little tired."

Spock nodded before returning to his science station.

 

XXXXXXXXXXX

 

Lying alone in the darkness of his captain's quarters, Jim never felt more alone. On Beta Micron V, he and Bones had shared quarters for the entire duration of their stay. They had shared a bed every night and towards the end they had wild, mind numbing sex to pass away the hours. Jim, because he was selfishly grasping for what he always wanted.

They had not had sex that often since their days at the Academy when they needed it to unwind after long days of classes, simulations and rotations.

Before Bones, he had been a loner. He always kept everyone at an arm’s length. After his brother left, his parents left…

He was not sure why he had gravitated to Bones. Why he had latched on the doctor who had thrown up on his boots within minutes of meeting each other.

Jim absently drew circles around his abdominal muscles. He sometimes hated how quiet it got on the Enterprise. His mind tended to wander.

It had taken years and a very drunk night for Bones to mutter the name ‘Barbara’. Jim had thought that Barbara was Bones' latest girlfriend and did not mention anything at the time.

It had taken equally long and similar circumstances for Jim to learn who Barbara was. In one of Bones’ drunken stupor, Bones had told him that Pam had been pregnant when they divorced. ‘She’s five-years-old today, Jim.’

From what Jim knew, Bones never tried to see the little girl. He did not even have a holo image of the little girl. Jim had always suspected it had something to do with 'ex-wife took the whole goddamn planet in the divorce. All I got left are my bones.’

But damn it, after the initial checkup, after they arrived back on the Enterprise, Bones had been avoiding him. It was not that Jim had tried to actively seek him out either. Because damn it, he was definitely the victim here.

_Bones had left a pregnant Pamela…_

His mind would have probably taken him to darker places were it not for the sudden shearing, slicing pain he suddenly felt.

It felt like someone was cutting him open with a phaser beam. The sensation was concentrated at his perineal body. It felt like he was being torn open.

Jim let out a strangled cry. It hurt more than when Spock nerve pinched him. It hurt more than when that Klingon warrior nearly broke his back. He stretched upwards for the com button that was located above his bed. He punched it with more force than he thought he still possessed. "Kirk to Bones..." He managed to choke out. He was not even sure Bones would have his communicator with him.

"Jim?" Bones responded almost immediately. He sounded tired.

"Bones..." Jim managed to get out before doubling over. The last thing he saw was his comforter. The last thing he thought he heard was Bones shouting "Be right there."

XXXXXXXXXX

When Jim woke, he immediately knew he was not in his quarters.

Instead he was in one of the lesser used med bays. It seemed it was so infrequently used that Bones had been using it as a storage room. There was a large, white machine in the corner of the room that Jim had never seen before. It looked to have come straight out of a history book.

He was lying on a bio bed. It was beeping away his bio signs. He wondered if Bones had carried him here. He also noted that Bones must have changed him into one of the standard Starfleet issued medical gowns. Most of all, the pain had stopped.

He turned to find Bones dozing in a chair. He looked uncomfortable, the way his head was tilted.

Jim shifted again. It caused the sheet under him to rustle. Bones jolted awake at the slight sound. Bones was always a light sleeper.

"Jim!" He immediately looked at him with those burning, swirling hazel eyes.

"Bones… what happened?"

"N’irthans." Bones answered. However, it was not an answer at all because the N’irthans had done many things, things that Jim still had not wrapped his head around.

Bones stood up. He walked over to that strange machine in the corner. "Now that you're awake we can do a trans vaginal ultrasound."

"A what?" Jim immediately sat upright. The blood rushed to his head. He moaned causing Bones to whip his head around. Before Bones could do anything more, he held up his hands to signal he was fine, or as fine as he could be under these circumstances. “What did you just say?”

"Trans vaginal..." Bones started again.

Jim was not sure if he should feel grateful that his hearing was not going either.

"Doesn't that involve," Jim waved his hand, "a vagina?"

"Yes, that tearing was the completion of your vagina." Bones explained. He sounded like he was instructing interns again at Starfleet medical.

"Vagina?" Jim sputtered out. He immediately crossed his legs as he watched as Bones picked up a 'medieval' looking wand that was attached to the machine. He had not noticed it initially. "What the fuck is that?"

"It’s an ultrasound probe," Bones answered easily as if this ‘thing’ was actually common.

Instead of asking, ‘why the hell do you have one?’ or ‘where the fuck did you get it?’ because at this moment Jim really did not care. "Aren't there tricorders?" Jim waved his hand even more furiously.

"It seems the N’irthans frown upon sophisticated medical technology… for certain things.”

_No surprise there._

“It seems for some reason our tricorders can’t penetrate through your womb." Bones explained. Jim watched as Bones unwrapped an equally archaic condom.

“Isn’t it too late for that?” Jim asked halfheartedly.

Bones chose to remain silent. Jim watched as he skillfully rolled it over the probe. He did not want to know how Bones got that or how Bones learned to roll a condom. He then proceeded to coat it with medical lube. Normally, Bones with lube meant good things, but this… this was going to fucking suck. "Now lie down."

Jim eyed Bones warily. Bones crossed his arms. The offending device was still in hand.

When it came to medical procedures, Bones always won. He would probably win this too.

As if Bones could read his thoughts, at times he was sure Bones could. “It’s not going to hurt. It seems the N’irthan physiology doesn’t include hymens.”

“Lucky me,” Jim muttered. He collapsed back down on the bed and uncrossed his legs.  He hissed as he felt Bones slide the device inside. He suddenly felt raw and exposed. He clenched his eyes shut as he felt the device slide further inside.

“Jim…” Bones muttered. His voice was so soft, so different from a moment prior that it caused Jim to open his eyes. In front of him was an equally archaic screen.

His breath hitched.

The screen showed four black blobs... four pulsating black blobs in a sea of white and grey. It did not take a medical degree for Jim to know what that meant.

He turned away from the screen and saw Bones looking at the screen. He looked younger, younger than Jim had ever seen him before. When Bones turned to meet his gaze, Jim saw.

God, he wondered if that was what S'ara had been talking about. He saw love, so much love.

"Bones…”

"She was right you know?" Bones muttered. It was so soft and quiet.

"Who?" Jim asked equally as quiet. It was a question he was not sure he really wanted the answer to.

"S'ara." Bones answered back. It was so quiet, so quick, and so sudden that Jim almost missed it.

"Oh."

"I do love you. I've loved you for almost a decade now."

Jim scoffed.

This was starting to sound like the plotline of a horrible rom com that he had watched years ago.

"This isn't because you're carrying my child."

"Children actually.” He shifted his glance once more at the screen that was vividly displaying the four pulsating splotches of life.

"Children," Bones corrected. The soft smile on his face was still there. Jim could see it from the corner of his eyes. But Jim Kirk had been burned many times. Good things rarely happened to him. It was only in the last few years that his life had started to not be as shitty.

“Jim…” He felt Bones’ hand on his arm. The warmth was electric. It shot flashes through his body. "Jim… damnit…” Bones ruffled his normally neat hair. “I didn’t mean for it to happen like this, but… damnit… kid. This isn’t because of some alien voodoo…”

Jim did not respond, but that was exactly what he was thinking.

“This isn’t Jim. I swear… I swear as long as you let me, I'll be there for you... you and the babies."

At that Jim turned around. He felt his breath catch. The words he dreamed of. The words he had not realized he wanted to hear until recently. Bones was still looking at him with so much love.

_Oh fuck it._

At that moment, Jim did not care. He did not care if this turn of events was because of alien magic or just the universe finally giving him what he actually wanted to hear. At this moment and maybe many moments before this one, Bones loved him, and selfishly, Jim decided that was okay.

He leaned forward. He hissed when he felt the ward hit a wall that had not existed before. Jim wanted to laugh. They looked like such idiots. Bones was looking at him like he had grown an extra head. His hand was still holding the wand that was capturing the images. "Bones get that thing out of my vagina and kiss me damn it."

"Jim?"

"God... Did it really take you knocking me up for us to realize how stupid we are?"

"Jim?"

"I have also loved you for a decade."

Jim felt the wand spill away. The image fizzled out. Next his vision did as Bones captured his lips with his own. Jim vaguely remembered his mother once telling him that kissing your true love was like fireworks, but for Jim it was better. It was like honey, and peaches, and oh so much more. Most of all, it felt right.

He felt Bones slide onto the bio bed. Jim shivered as he felt Bones reach underneath his gown and gently crease his stomach. Unlike S'ara's touch which had been cold and rough due to callouses, Bones' touch was gentle and filled with so much love. Jim smiled and placed his own hand over Bones’.

Bones had sneaked him onto the Enterprise. In hindsight, had Nero not happened, and that mission had turned out to be just a simple milk run Bones could have faced a court martial. He had risked his entire career and any chance of getting any suitable postings by sneaking Jim onto the Enterprise.

Pamela had taken everything from Bones. Bones must have wanted to know his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to go with Pamela as Bones' ex-wife in this story. The comics seemed to imply at least when they divorced; they didn't have children. Maybe that'll change when the 3rd movie comes out.
> 
> As for Barbara and not Joanna for the name of the child, I actually have a reason for this. Also in one of the old Gold Key TOS comics, Bones had a daughter named Barbara, so I borrowed the name.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Bones have an important talk...

Once they were far, far away from Beta Micron V, Jim marched down to med bay during the middle of alpha shift. It had been a slow morning. It would continue to be slow until they arrived at Jupiter Station. The crew members were spending most of the days completing the last of their personal and professional logs. They were expecting a smooth ride back to the Sol system. As a result, Jim had started to let different members of his crew who had showed any indication of potentially becoming star ship captains take commands for periods of time. Currently, Sulu was sitting in the captain’s chair.

He found sick bay to be mostly empty. Jim nodded at the two nurses conversing in the corner. They smiled back at him.

“He’s in his office,” Christine Chapel added. Her voice was warm. It had taken a long time before he and Nurse Chapel finally made peace with each other after their embarrassing short fling in those initial days when he was still a green captain and thought the world revolved solely around him. He feared at the time after he and Carol’s relationship ended; it would have burned all the bridges he and Chapel had managed to mend over the years. Luckily, that had not been the case, and she had stayed on even after Carol transferred off the Enterprise.

“Thanks.” Jim slipped past a row of bio beds.

He could see Bones' figure hunched over his desk through the window of his office. Jim paraded inside before closing and locking the door behind him. There was no way he was going to chance anyone walking in on them during this conversation. He pressed his hands down on Bones’ desk. Bones did not even look up. "Okay Bones, I'm ready."

Bones looked up startled. "Ready for what?"

"To get these babies transported into one of your synthetic wombs like you did for that ensign." Jim answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He waved his hand down at his abdomen. He could have sworn his stomach was even rounder today than it had been yesterday although Bones had insisted that it was still too early for him to start showing. At best or worst, he would not start to show until they were almost at Jupiter Station.

"Jim," Bones sighed. He set the PADD he was writing on down before standing up. They were nearly the same height.

Jim frowned. This did not brood well.

"Jim, it ain't that simple." Bones continued.

"What are you talking about Bones?" Jim narrowed his eyes.

"It seems the N’irthans have studied our technology. In addition to preventing medical tricorder readings, it seems the uterus they ‘grew’ inside your body also shields transporter beams."

Jim's eyes widened. "Bones are you saying I have to stay pregnant?!" The words rushed out of his mouth. His voice got louder and higher by the time he reached the end of the sentence. He saw Bones visibly flinch. He was suddenly glad that Bones’ office was also soundproof.

"Yes."

Jim immediately reached across Bones' desk for the com button. Bones grabbed his wrist before he could depress it.

"Bones, let go." Jim hissed.

"Jim Kirk, I've known you for almost a decade. I know you are about to command Sulu to turn this ship around."

"Of course, I am Bones. I'm giving the N’irthans back their little gift." Jim responded sharply. He pulled back, hoping the sudden lurch would provide enough backward force to jolt him out of Bones’ grip. However Bones’ hold did not loosen.

"Jim..."

“Bones, let go.” Jim practically roared.

“Jim.” Bones said again, much more kindly; however, he did not let go.

"God damn it Bones. I’m not going to have a baby just because of some god damn alien voodoo.” Jim articulated harshly. He struggled to free himself from Bones’ iron clad grip. “It’s wrong in a thousand different ways.”

“I know, Jim. I know.”

However it was the words Bones did not say. The words they did not have share between them which spoke volumes. Even before he spoke the next words, he could already feel Bones’ grip loosen.

“I am not going to be known as the first pregnant man."

"Technically you aren't, Jim."

"Bones, this isn’t the time to be funny." His voice was no longer as loud.

At that, Bones did let go of his wrist. He knew that Bones knew that he was not going to give it back. The pregnancy was a gift from the gods in the N’irthan’s eyes. In the time they had spent on Beta Micron V; they had learned that the N’irthans were highly religious and would not take kindly to Jim returning the gift. They both knew this was why Jim had waited this long.

As for whether or not the Federation was going to admit the N’irthans to the Federation once they found out, neither Jim nor Bones knew. Jim still was not sure how to notify the brass of his condition.

Jim sighed before sinking into the seat across from Bones’ desk. The seat where Jim was sure Bones had delivered hundreds of bad news to different crew members over the years. However, at that moment Jim felt he had won the lottery for worst news ever received.

He prodded at his stomach dejectedly. From the small amounts of biology that he had taken in middle school, he knew the babies were still tiny, barely the size of jelly beans.

"Jim," Bones sighed. He rubbed his forehead. Jim wondered if Bones was also developing a headache. He definitely was.

"What Bones?" He knew it was not Bones fault. Well, actually it was Bones’ fault.

“We can’t transport the embryos out nor can we go back to N’irthans, but this isn’t the Dark Ages. You have rights Jim. You aren’t an incubator, and you don’t have to be.” Bones continued. He sounded like he was arguing with Spock about the merits of being human as opposed to speaking to Jim about… “Nobody will think less of you, especially not me.”

Bones was giving him an out. Jim wondered if he said these exact same words to Pamela so long ago. Jim twisted the hem of his uniform between his fingers. Bones was basically telling him he would not mind, but these babies were not just his. They were Bones’ too.

“It isn’t just my call though, Bones.”

“Yes, yes it really is. It’s your …”

Jim pulled a face, and the word ‘body’ died on Bones’ lips.

“I never told you this, and I didn’t really think it mattered at the time,” Jim sighed.

Bones looked at him questionably.

“But the first day we landed on N’irthan, S’ara asked me about kids. She asked me if I had any.” Jim said slowly. He saw flashes of emotions run across Bones’ face. “She asked me if you had any, if you wanted any. I think she can read minds, Bones.”

“Jim…”

“After the warp core…”

Bones drew a deep breath. He knew those memories haunted him just as much as it did Jim. They rarely talked about that day or the days following Jim’s near death. Even now, Jim did not know everything that happened in those long two weeks.

“When you told me I could never have kids, at the time I was okay with it. For a long, long time, I never thought I had anything good to pass on. Anything worth passing on… But then as time passed, after all the babies that were born on the Enterprise during our five year mission, after all the babies that were delivered on alien worlds. I thought how nice it would be. How nice it would be to come home to a family, to hear the laughter of children, to raise them, to help them grow.”

“Jim…”

He held up a hand to stop him. At that moment, Jim decided if he did not finish now, he would never finish.

“But they aren’t just me Bones. They have a part of you too…”

“Jim.” Bones came around from his side of the desk. He stood in front of Jim, with those brilliantly bright hazel eyes that always took his breath away. People always told him that his eyes were like looking into an endless ocean or the entire expanse of the galaxy, but Jim had always, always found them ordinary, not like Bones’ eyes. Bones’ eyes reminded him of Earth, of spring time, of everything that he needed to ground him from flying away. That was what Bones was to him… what he had always been. His anchor… his reason for being alive…

“I have a part of you growing inside of me, Bones.” As Jim drew a breath, he realized at that moment that he had finally decided, or maybe he had always known. “And that gives me strength and hope… Bones. I want to meet them Bones. I want to help them grow. I want to love them. Because… because I know they will be as wonderful and amazing and brilliant and caring as you are Bones.”

“Jim…” Bones knelt in front of him. He intertwined his fingers with Jim’s. “You’re wrong Jim. You’re the amazing one, and these babies… they’ll be amazing because they will have you as their daddy. Because you decided to give them life…”

Jim leaned forward to rest his forehead against Bones’ chest. It was so large and broad and so warm. It was everything that Bones was. “I guess we’re going to be dads, Bones.”

“Yeah Jim, I guess we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is why Jim had taken the news so well up to now...


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim does some self exploration...

Jim was beginning to see that tiny, rarely used sick bay as second home.  He was once again on that exact same bio-bed with that exact same trans-vaginal wand in his vagina as Bones took the scans.  It felt less strange now than it had that first night.  He was not sure that was a good thing though.

He was counting down the days until he was far enough along that Bones could use a normal ultrasound machine.  Bones was staring at the screen intently.  He had been for the last twenty minutes now.  Jim was not even sure what Bones was looking at anymore. 

As a result, Jim’s mind started to wander, and sometimes that was actually his Achilles’s heel.  As he felt Bones’ twist the wand again, a sudden nagging thought crossed his mind.  “Bones…”

“Hmmm…”

“Is this permanent?”

“What?”  Bones turned his head.  Jim noted the look of confusion on his face.

Jim waved his hands downwards.  “This…everything,” he said lamely.  A faint blush appeared on his cheeks.  He noted the silence in the room.  The only sound was the faint beeping that was coming from the bio bed.  He watched as Bones drew a deep breath. 

That was definitely not a good sign.

“I…I don’t really know, Jim.”  Bones answered truthfully.

“Great…”  Jim sighed as he leaned further back onto his pillow.  He closed his eyes.  The light was starting to give him a mild headache.  Another bridge, another unknown that he would have to cross… that they would cross together… together…

And somehow that made everything mildly okay.

“It definitely isn’t permanent for the N’irthans at least,” Bones continued.

Jim let out a hum of acknowledgement for Bones to continue.

“When I performed S’aren’s post-delivery check-up, all the changes had disappeared,” Bones continued.

“But I’m not N’irthan.”

“Right.”  Bones nodded.  “However so far everything seems… normal.”

Jim scoffed. 

_Normal…_

Nothing had been normal since that day.  Nothing about any of this was normal.

“The babies are developing normally.”

“That’s good.” 

It was good.  Jim knew that.  He was thankful that everything was progressing without problems.  It seemed his alternations were finally tapering off.  He had not noticed any more significant changes lately.  All of the noticeable ones he had been able to hide under his thick multi-layered uniforms.  He was thankful to be captain when he was forced to request a new set of uniforms the day before.  He was able to bypass most of the paperwork.  All he needed was Bones’ signature that the changes in his clothing sizes were not a weight problem.  

He felt Bones pull the wand out.  It came out easier than it had gone in… and easier than last time.  Once again Jim was not sure that was good thing. 

He heard Bones draw a deep breath.  "How about we go on a date?"

"Date?"  Jim sat up at those words.  He looked over at Bones with his large sapphire eyes.

Bones sighed again.  He set the wand down on the table and pulled off his gloves before continuing.  "Yes, I told you that I loved you, and it’s not because you're carrying my children or due to any drugs that they put into our food.”

“Bones…”

“And I know you’re a masochist.”  Jim pulled a face.  Before he could protest, Bones hastily continued.  “Hell, most of us probably are deep down to even be on this bucket of bolts for five years.”

“Bones…” Jim could not help the smile that formed on his lips. There were still things in this word that made him smile… Bones and the Enterprise were two things that ranked very high on that list.  “She can hear you.”

Bones rolled his eyes.  “Stop anthropomorphizing the ship Jim.  It’s still as strange now as it was when you first did it seven years ago.”

Jim opened his mouth again to protest this indignation.

“And… I know deep down you probably still don’t believe me, so I aim to show you, Jim," his words softened.  The edge was gone from his words.

Jim immediately closed his mouth.  He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, and absently ran his fingers over his abdomen.  It was still relatively flat.  A tiny, nearly unnoticeable pouch was starting to form. 

He wondered if he should tell Bones.  It was something he had never said or mentioned to anyone before.  He usually just let people assume whatever they wanted in this matter.  It was less embarrassing and awkward.

Fuck, this was actually the only thing in Jim’s life that he actually found even remotely embarrassing.

“That is if you want to.”  Bones quickly added.

Jim sighed.  He brushed back his bangs.  Another side effect of everything, his hair seemed to be growing twice as fast in most areas of his body.  He straightened the folds on the medical gown he was wearing. 

Fuck, this was Bones.  This was not someone else, and after nearly a decade there was very little that Jim did not tell Bones after all this time.

"I've… I’ve never been on a date before," he finally muttered.

He wondered if Bones’ eyebrows could have gotten any higher.  It quickly went down.  A small smile, one that rarely registered on Bones’ face, appeared.  He leaned over and cupped his hands over Jim’s.  They were larger than Jim’s.  He noticed that minor signs of wrinkles were already forming on his hands. 

"Well Darlin', that’s goin’ to change then.”  His accent was as thick as molasses.  “I'll pick you up at your quarters at 1900."  

"Darlin'?"  Jim asked questionably.  He felt a jolt in his stomach.

Bones shrugged.  

Jim smiled.  "Okay Bones."

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

It took more willpower than Jim thought he had to get through the day’s shift.  There were only two things he could think about.  

All of which revolved around his date with Bones

When alpha shift finally ended, it had been another slow day on the bridge.  Jim spent most of it staring into the dark, black space and filling out all of the disembarkment paperwork.  For once he did not dwindle on the bridge when the beta shift crew members took over.  It took almost all of his will power to not immediately turn over the conn to his relief and even more to not run to his quarters.

He knew not to run.  He was the captain.  If his crew saw him running, that would probably led to pandemonium because the only times he ever ran through the corridors usually involved life and death situations.  Those times he could easily count on one hand, and most had been during his early days as captain.    

However when the doors to his quarters slid closed and Jim found himself alone in his quarters, he was at a loss. 

When he told Bones he had never been on a date before, he had not been lying.  He had seen enough romance movies to know what a date was supposed to be like; however, he had never been on one before.  He never ‘dated’.  Not when he lived in Riverside and not at the Academy. 

Most of his past lovers were like him.  They did not see the need to go to the movies or eat dinners at fancy restaurants as depicted in the holo videos he saw.  Most of his past encounters, and he was not ashamed to say he had many, had wanted to fuck without the strings or entanglements attached, which Jim was willing to provide since he did not want them either. 

Not even with Carol, who had been the closest person he had ever dated.  They were both workaholics and pursuing a relationship aboard the Enterprise had not been easy, especially back then.  Then there was all the baggage they carried around. 

So instead of worrying, Jim stripped out of his clothes and headed into the bathroom he shared with Spock.  He slapped the occupied light on to keep Spock’s door shut.  He had learned his lessons over the years.  It was not that he ever cared before, but now as he briefly glanced at his nude figure in the mirror, something he rarely did lately, he realized he did care for once. 

He noted the subtle changes to his body.  His hips had widened considerably.  His chest had softened with the formation of the additional layers of breast tissue.  For now they were still small, like a young girl’s in the early stages of puberty. 

Up to that moment, Jim had never touched them.  Even when he cleaned himself he had used a towel.  However, he was going on a date with Bones… and dates usually led to…

Jim flashed a million shades of red.  He had never been modest, not even when he was thirteen-years-old and had just hit puberty. 

_Damn it…_

It was not like he and Bones had never had sex before.  Hell, that was how he was even in this position to begin with, but that was not the present Jim.  The Jim with breasts and a …

His flushed again… a vagina.  He definitely had not touched that area with his bare hands.  In fact, most of the time he had been pretending it did not even exist.   

However, damn it… this was ridiculous.  He was still Jim Kirk, and he definitely was not going to be beaten by his own body.  He glanced up at the chronometer that hung over the wall length mirror.  He still had over an hour before Bones would show up.  He had time…

He looked down at himself and tried to figure out where to begin.  Normally, he would go for his cock, but he knew that part of himself.

God, it had not been this difficult when he was thirteen-years-old.      

And it was not like he had never been with a woman before.  However, none of the women he had ever been with before had liked the exact same things.  They were all different.  Some needed a lot of foreplay before she would even entertain the idea of penetration.  It usually involved a lot of kissing, rubbing and teasing before she became willing to do anything, while others hardly needed any of it.  Jim’s cock, which was well endowed, was enough to get them wet.

Jim figured he was probably like the later.  Surely, his new appendages would not be any different from the parts he been born with. 

Even though Jim knew, he did not really have to explore.  But he was explorer, damn it.  He lived on exploring new worlds and learning new cultures.  This was not really that much different in that regards.  If he could, he would never leave even a single stone unturned in any world he explored.   So, similarly, he really could not see himself not exploring every aspect of his new body. 

He took a deep breath before setting both hands over his breasts.  They fit easily into his hands.  They were softer than most of the women and girls he had ever been with.  Jim was not sure if he should be miffed about that. 

They were soft.  He ran his fingers over the curves before finally reaching his nipples.  He rolled them between his fingers to get used to the feeling.  Previously, he hated it when anyone touched them.  However now, as he steadily increased the pressure, it was different.  He gasped when they hardened.  A steady, warmth grew between his legs. 

His penis jumped to life. 

But then something else happened down there…

He nearly blushed when he realized what it was.

He had gotten wet.

Curious, Jim slid a hand between his thighs.  His fingers brushed against his scrotum before he found his new hole.  The hole, he had never explored before.  When Bones first told him, he had been horrified.  But now… now he was curious. 

He back up himself to the toilet and sat down on the toilet seat.  He spread his legs as far apart as he could manage before tentatively slipping one finger inside. 

_God…_

He was definitely wet.  With his other hand, he continued to knead his nipples while with the other he continued to explore the opening.   He ran his index finger and thumb around the opening while keeping his middle and ring fingers inside.   He could vividly feel the thin folds of newly formed skin.  It felt so familiar. 

He nearly jolted forward as he reached the top of the triangle.

It did not take a medical degree for Jim to know what that was. 

_He had a clitoris._

Damn, the N’irthans had thought of everything.

He let go of his breast and brought both hands between his legs.  He slowly rubbed the folds of skins with one hand while with the other he explored deeper and deeper.   He gasped at the jolt of electricity that cascaded through his body.  He quickened his ministrations.  Harder and harder he rubbed.    He gasped.  His breath became ragged. His pulse quickened.  His toes curled upwards. 

He came with an explosion of lights and sounds.  He collapsed into a tired heap.  He slid to the cold hard floor of the bathroom that he shared Spock.  His fingers were still between his legs.  A thick, semitransparent layer of liquid coated his fingers and abdomen.

He gasped and panted for air.  He had not felt such an intense release from his own ministrations in years.  As he sat, eagle splayed on the bathroom floor, the lights blaring and blazing down at him, Jim decided maybe, maybe he could handle all these new changes.

And maybe… just maybe they were not all bad.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Bones go on their date...

Jim knew water was a rare commodity on a star ship, so he usually never invoked his captain’s privileges, which allowed him showers with water as opposed to the standard sonic that most members of his crew received.

In fact by now, he had accumulated months of water rations. 

So as he stood in his shower for longer than he should have, he did not feel that _guilty_.  He watched as the water cascaded through his hair and down his overly sensitive body.  He watched it roll down each curve of his newly transformed frame.  He watched as it parted down the two sides of his navel and roll down his hips and past his legs. 

 He lathered his abdomen, which was still relatively flat, with bath foam.  His abdominal muscles were still intact despite the fact that it had been weeks since he last paid a visit to the gym for the more intensive workouts.  Bones had restricted his exercise regimen down to light jogging through the tertiary gym, and he was not sure how long that would last.  He was not sure how long before it… this… whatever it was would become noticeable. 

 He remembered Bones’ words, ‘some woman show as early as eight weeks, some not until the twelfth week.  It’s all genes, Jim.’ 

 He had never wondered about his mother’s pregnancy.  He had never gone looking for pictures of ‘before’, and nobody had offered to show him.  So Jim really did not know.  He just hoped whenever it finally happened, it would be after they reached Jupiter Station because then it would easier. Although he was not sure what easier even meant at this point because he really had not thought that far yet. 

 The future and everything was still murky.  His thoughts got as far as knowing he was going to go through with the pregnancy, and he knew he was going to keep the babies… all four of them.  Although that thought really scared him, he was going to be a father, a father to four little lives. 

 He placed his hand over his not yet swollen abdomen.  It lingered there as the water ran cold, and Jim was forced to turn off the water and step out of the shower.  He draped a large white towel around his waist and another over his shoulders. 

 He left a trail of water in his wake as he approached the mirror.   

 Normally he spent very little time in the bathroom.  His mornings were always hectic.

 However, today he took more time than normal.  He made sure to run a few extra passes with his razor over his chin and the sides of his face.  He vaguely entertained the idea of letting it grow into a beard once he was planet side. 

 He hated shaving.  Puberty had hit him hard and angry.  As a result, his face was littered with angry acne scars.  A resident he had slept with in Iowa had once offered to remove them for him, but Jim had declined.  Medical procedures, no matter how minor, always made him uneasy.     

He proceeded to work on his hair.  He smiled when he remembered long ago when Scotty called him Captain ‘perfect hair’.  What Scotty did not know, what most of his crew did not know, safe for Bones, Spock and unwittingly Uhura, Jim did not have perfect hair.  In fact, it took a lot of hair products to make his hair as Scotty called ‘perfect’.  He would never admit it, but he and Uhura had spent hours debating the merits of different types of hair products.  

Once he deemed himself presentable, he made sure to unlock Spock’s side of the bathroom.  He had made that mistake once, and really the last thing he needed today was for an angry Uhura to corner him in his room. 

It was only when he was staring at his closest full of clothes that he realized just how limited his selection of clothes was.  His closest contained mostly only his standard issued gold captain uniforms, dress uniforms or away uniforms. 

It really was not a surprise.  After all, he spent more than ninety percent of his waking hours as captain.  The other ten percent he had to somehow find time to eat and exercise, as a result he really did not have that much recreation time.  The very little time he did have, he usually spent it playing 3D chess with Spock or with Bones unwinding in each other’s rooms. 

Hell, he could not remember the last time he wore civilian clothes.

_Damn, had it really been that long since he last took shore leave?_

After Carol left, there was not anyone to force him off the Enterprise during shore leave.  Because after that debacle with the mythical shore leave planet that could materialize anyone’s needs and wants, Bones stopped insisting that he leave the ship during shore leave.  Bones finally conceded that spending time unwinding on the Enterprise might be _less_ stressful than spending it planet side. 

As a result, for the last handfuls of shore leaves, he had not left the Enterprise for shore leave.  His excuse was always that he wanted to allow Spock maximum time off the ship with Uhura because the captain and first officer could not both be off the Enterprise at the same time.  It was in the rules.  Jim knew it did not pertain to shore leave, and he usually conveniently forgot this rule when it actually mattered.

So instead, he had been spending his ‘shore leaves’ on the Enterprise with Bones, because there had to be one medical officer onboard at all times.

He finally settled on a blue button up shirt and coffee brown slacks that were hanging in the far back of his closet.  Bones had once absently remarked that the shirt brought out the color of his eyes when he had worn it years ago during their time at the academy. 

As he buttoned up the last button, he left the one closest to his neck unbuttoned he was surprised it still fit after all these years. 

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

At 1900, Bones was always punctual, his door bell chimed. Bones never rang the doorbell.  It was something that was not them, not Jim and Bones. 

Even as Jim stood up from his couch, he wondered what this meant.  If this was one of those ‘changes’ that being in a relationship meant, because fuck even if the word ‘relationship’ had not be uttered  between them once yet, that was what they were in now.  

When Jim opened the door, he felt his breath hitch.

He had forgotten how handsome Bones looked in semiformal wear.  Bones had chosen an evergreen shirt and dark slacks.  It made his eyes green, so god damn green.  All traces of brown and gold seemed to have vanished from his irises.  Even his hair was looser and freer, it was not at all regulation style.

"You look good," Bones said.  He smiled.  God, he loved Bones' smile, and it was not only because Bones rarely smiled.  

"Thanks," Jim sputtered out.  He felt like a fish out of water.  

The smile on Bones’ face got wider, and at that moment Jim decided that he wanted to make sure Bones smiled more often.  

"You too," Jim managed to add.

"Ready?"  Bones held out his arm.  Jim nodded before intertwining their arms together.  He stepped out into the empty corridor, and the door slid shut behind him.  

He wondered where Bones was taking him.  There were not many places on the Enterprise to go on a date.  However when they stepped onto the turbo lift and Bones called out the floor level, Jim smiled.  

When they stepped into the small and lesser used rear observation deck Jim's eyes widened. He had not been expecting _this_ …

There was a small table with a pair of candles in the center of the room.   On both ends of the table were two sliver platters with matching silver lids, which were hiding the contents underneath.  There was a bottle of sparkling cider and a pair of wine glasses beside it.

For once Jim was not bitter that it would be long time before he could taste another drop of alcohol.

"Wait here." Bones said before stepping forward.  He let go of Jim’s arms. 

Jim watched as Bones 'lit' the candles before returning to his side.  He held out his arm again.  Jim took it amusedly.  He had not thought much about their date, or how the dynamics would work out.  In all his past relationships, even with men, he had usually been the leader, the one taking care of his partner.  It was the first time he was on the receiving end.

As Bones walked him to the table and pulled out the chair, Jim realized this had always been them.  Bones had always been the one taking care of him.  Bones had always taken the initiate even when it came to sex.

And he found he liked that.  He really did.  As captain, he was responsible for everyone, so it felt nice to be taken care of for once.

He smiled as he sat down and watched Bones circle the table to his own seat.    

"When you have time to pull this off?" Jim asked.

"I have my ways," Bones answered simply and easily.  

"Of course."  Jim rolled his eyes. His stomach grumbled at that moment.  He blushed red, while Bones laughed.  His eyes twinkled in time with the stars that swirled by in the background.

“Someone’s hungry.”  Bones teased, playfully.

“Shuddup,” Jim mumbled under his breath. 

"Guess we might as well eat.  Ready?" Bones asked.  He reached for the lid over his plate.

Jim nodded and grabbed the knob at the top of his own lid.  "Count of three?" He asked eagerly.

Bones nodded.  "One, two, three..."  At three they pulled off the covers.  Jim's eyes widened.  Each plate contained a large steak, small stack of asparagus and sautéed potatoes.

"Steak?" Jim tilted his head.

"You don't like fish," Bones shrugged his shoulders.  "Besides chef makes a mean steak."

"Yeah, he does."

The food was good.  They ate greedily and mostly in a comfortable silence, because when it came to them most things were that… comfortable and familiar.  

When they finished, Bones surprised him with a peach pie topped with ice cream.  Jim did not even notice the lone plate off to the side when they first walked in.  They shared it.  As Bones fed him spoonful of pie and ice cream across the table, the stars danced by.  

To have the stars and Bones...

It was more than Jim could ever dream of.

When the light from the candle fizzled out, Bones pulled him up.  At that moment, soft music started playing.  

"Bones, how?"  Jim asked.

"You aren't the only one on this ship with resources, darlin'."  Bones muttered softly into his ear.  It sent a row of goosebumps down his spine.   "Can I have this dance?"

"Yeah..."

Jim felt like he was dancing through the ages… through time itself with the stars reflecting over Bones’ face.    

When the last song ended, they laid down on the floor of the observation deck, Jim's head on Bones' chest.  Bones drew circles over his abdomen. They watched the stars roll by.  

_God, he was going to miss this._

Even after five years, Jim still never grew tired of this… of the stars… of the darkness… of it all.

"Never thought I would actually miss this."

Jim tilted his head upwards, so he could see Bones’ face.

"The stars... exploring and seeing new worlds,” Bones continued.  “When I signed on five years ago, I thought everyone had lost their minds.  I thought the admiralty was crazy for even deciding that sending people on five year missions was a good idea.  I couldn't wait to get back to Earth..."

"Then why..." Jim stopped.  He saw the colors reflected in Bones' eyes... the swirls of greens and browns.   He remembered Bones' proclamation of love and how he had been in love with him for nearly a decade.

He remembered that day at the Academy when they had to submit their postings preferences upon graduation.  It did not mean that it was certain, but most times it was because despite how cruel the bureaucracy was, they would never intentionally send someone who wanted a dirtside posting on a star ship. 

Jim had answered easily.  He knew what he wanted since the night Pike challenged him in that bar in Riverside.  

He remembered returning to their quarters to discover that Bones was already in their living room nursing a bottle of whiskey on the couch.  Bones rarely drank this early in the afternoon.  He only did it a couple of times in the year… the ‘taboo days’.  Jim never questioned Bones for the details when those days rolled around every year because he had his own.  They both had their hidden demons; however, Jim knew for a fact today was not one of them.

Really he should have said ‘hi’ or ‘what’s wrong’ or even a multitude of other times. 

Instead at that moment, his mouth decided to betray him. 

Instead of any of those things, Jim instead blurted out 'what you choose?'  He hated suspense.  However, he had been chicken shit for days leading up to this moment to ask Bones what he would choose.  Because even though Jim had proclaimed to anyone who would listen that Bones would be his CMO when, not if, he became captain, he knew just as well that at the end it would be Bones’ choice.  He might not like it, but he would never force Bones to go with him.

He knew his best friend hated sailing through the stars.   But Jim still hoped... no… found himself frequently dreaming about sailing the stars with Bones.

Bones just rolled his eyes.  "Starship posting Jim... Got to be your CMO, ‘member?"  He answered so easily.  Jim just smiled.  He smiled his thousand sun shines smile for at that moment everything in the world was right.  

"You did it for me didn't you?"  He knew at that moment, Bones would know what he was talking about.   

"At the time maybe,” Bones replied fondly.  His words were laced with nostalgia, of time long gone by.  “I realized when you first proclaimed, 'I'm going to be captain, and you're going to be my CMO'.  I realized I really wanted that.  If that was the only way I got to have you, it would be okay."

"Bones..." Jim breathed out.

"But I did come to love it.  Maybe it's because the stars remind me of you.  You're like a big, burning ball of light, Jim."  

Jim rolled over, so he was straddling over Bones.  As he peered down at Bones, all he saw was love.  God he saw so much love.  

He leaned down and captured Bones' lips with his own.  


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov finally find out...

Jim was adamant about not mentioning the pregnancy to anyone on the ship. “It’s weird and complicated,” Jim had lamely explained the first time Bones commented. They had been lying side by side on the floor of the rear observation deck after a large meal. Since their first date, they had been spending more and more of their free time here.

Well, Jim ate a lot before throwing most of it up. He was finally experiencing ‘morning sickness’.

Bones just gave him that look, the one that said ‘you’re an idiot, Jim’.

However after the fifth consecutive day that Jim found his meals coming out the wrong end while on shift, Spock, ever the professional, asked if he needed to go to med bay. Jim waved it away. Spock insisted, citing regulation. As a result, Jim had unwittingly handed the conn over to Spock and then sent Bones a message that he was coming down for ‘medical consultation’. He knew Bones was rolling his eyes at his choice of words.

For once in his life, he did not need medical consultation.

"You really should tell them." Bones commented again.

They were in that rarely used sick bay again. Jim was sitting on the bio bed, which he was starting to think he could call his second bed now, considering how often he found himself on it, hovering over the exact same kidney bowl. It was already half full of a combination of his breakfast and lunch. The soupy reddish, brown liquid was making him even more nauseated.

He looked up. "Don't you have any hypos for this?"

"Is Jim Kirk asking for a hypo?" Bones jokingly asked as he fiddled with the bio bed settings.

"I really hate you right now." Jim grumbled before sinking his face back into the bowl and another flood of liquids escaped his lips. He pulled a face at the bitter, acerbic aftertaste.

He swore he was throwing up more food than he was possibly putting in. Bones had started giving him drips and tablets to supplement his meals. "I thought morning sickness was only supposed to happen in the morning."

Actually Jim had been hoping to avoid it all together. He was hoping the universe would give him a free pass. He should have known he was not that lucky.

"Misnomer," Bones commented. He gently ran circles over his back and up between his shoulder blades. At least Bones had some good points. "You really should tell the crew. I'm not sure how much longer you can keep wearing those pants."

Jim groaned. Just this morning, he had been forced to snag one of Uhura's hair ties that she kept in the bathroom he shared with Spock to keep his pants together. He definitely was not going to mention that to Bones though. He also did not want to go ask for another set of uniforms.

“Aren’t we almost back on Earth?”

“Jim.” Bones sighed. He looked away as Jim hurled another watery mess into the bowl. In reality, there were hypos for morning sickness; however with Jim’s allergies, it meant he was horribly allergic to the ingredients. “I don’t think you can keep hiding this. Spock is constantly mentioning that you seemed to be putting on weight and whether I should change out your meal cards.”

Jim was not sure how he should interpret this scenario. On one hand, it meant that Spock cared enough to inquiry about his health, but on the other hand it meant that Spock was noticing his weight gain.

“I can only invoke my rights as a doctor for so long, Jim, and you’ve never been that great that balancing your diet.”

Jim scoffed, but for once his weight gain was not due to his poor eating habits. Hell, he was not sure the last time he had managed to keep any amount of his meals in his stomach long enough for it to affect anything. He was literally receiving most of his nutrients and fluids from Bones’ supplements. He was not sure why Bones was still insisting he even attempt to eat anymore. Most food made him extremely nauseated. Just yesterday, the smell of Chekov's midmorning snack, potato chips, had caused Jim to practically run to his ready room, or he would have caused another accident on the bridge. At least they had robots to clean up the mess as opposed to dumping it on a poor ensign or new recruit.

Jim did not want to be responsible for affecting Starfleet’s yearly recruiting quota. Starfleet was just starting to recover from the events nearly half a decade ago.

“I thought women don’t show until at least the 13th week,” Jim grumbled. He had not even entered the double digits yet.

Bones rubbed his forehead. “First, that is for a singleton pregnancy. We’ve talked about this Jim. In normal quadruplets births you’ll look full term by 24 weeks. In all seriousness, we need to sew your cervix shut soon.”

“What?!” Jim looked up horrified.

“Despite the N’irthan’s belief and insistence of your super uterus, multiple pregnancies frequently result in an early delivery. With your physiology, who knows when you’ll go into labor,” Bones continued as if he was reciting some medical book.  "To give the babies the best chances, we need to keep them inside of you as long as possible."

“Isn’t that… medieval?” Jim waved his free hand.

“Cervix cerclage is a common practice now.” Bones picked up his PADD and walked over to him. Jim noted that his charts were on one corner, and the Enterprise docking schedule on the other. “I suggest we perform it as close to our arrival to Jupiter Station as possible. I can’t stop you from attending meetings and publicity conferences, but at this least way I’ll breathe somewhat easier especially if you insist of keeping this a secret.”

“Bones.”

Bones flipped the PADD around. Jim could easily deduce it was a picture of his uterus from the latest ultrasound image they had taken the day before. Within the four tiny little sacs, each contained a pulsating heart. The babies still looked like little tiny blobs. Bones had pointed out the features to him once.

Each baby had their own sac and placenta. They had attached to different corners of Jim’s uterus. Bones pointed to the bottom. It was his cervix, and it connected to his vagina. Jim shuttered at that thought. He still remembered that night when he woke to that horrible, burning sensation. He thought someone had cut him open.

It had taken hours for Bones to explain that it seemed the N’irthans had planned everything. However, it was highly unlikely Jim was going to deliver naturally. They had not thought about the delivery yet. Transporters were off the table. There was the archaic cesarean section which is barely ever used anymore or nature’s all natural.

“This is your cervix. When it’s time, it’ll start to thin and open.”

“So the idea is to seal it.”

“Correct.”

“Okay, Bones. You’re the doctor.” Jim added before hurling into the bowl again.

XXXXXXXX

  
It was another week before fate decided otherwise. They were still roughly two weeks out from Jupiter Station. They were closing in on their own solar system. It felt like a lifetime since Jim saw the star formations from this vantage point.

He had not realized how late it had gotten. He had managed to keep his breakfast down that morning, which was a miracle all on its own. The admiralty was insisting on starting the preliminary debriefing. He had spent the morning discussing disembarkment protocol, schedules, and the handover of the Enterprise upon their arrival. Both he and Scotty were nervous about that, Scotty because he had been handling her care for years and Jim because she had been his for so long.

The transmission ended with very little conclusions. It left him drained and tired. He felt like he was developing a massive headache.

So when he stood up, he suddenly felt as if his whole world had shifted sideways and upwards. It felt different from an internal damper failure. Before he could think more of it, his vision fizzled over. He felt like he was underwater. Everything seemed farther away and quieter and colder.

He found himself falling. He wondered what prevented him from hitting his desk.

He felt a pair of warm arms pushing against his shoulders blades. He thought he had been alone.

“‘ones?” He muttered, barely coherent.

“No, Captain.” The voice actually sounded concerned.

“’pock?” Jim managed to mutter out. He blinked trying to hold on to the little awareness that he had left.

“Captain’s ready room to sick bay,” Jim heard Spock’s voice. It sounded so far away.

“McCoy here.”

Jim flinched.

_Fuck._

“The captain is ill.”

“Be right up.”

“Spock,” Jim moaned. He tried to push away from Spock. His only thought was to stand up or at least not be supported by Spock because if Bones saw him like this… “I’m okay.”

“That is a gross… exaggeration.”

Before Jim could respond, his ready room door slid open. He flinched when he felt the depression of a hypo into his neck. Bones had pressed down on it harder than normal. It meant it was frustrated. “Damnit Jim,” Bones hissed.

He instantly felt better. _Bones and his miracle hypos…_ not that he was ever going to tell Bones that. As much as he loved Bones, that word still made his heart flutter, Jim refused to give him that gratification.

“Doctor?” Spock questioned. “You do not seem surprised.”

“No, Spock. As the captain says, he is ‘fine’. This is just due to reckless behavior.” Bones crossed his arms and scowled even harder. Jim suddenly felt like he was five-years-old again.

“I do not understand. The captain does not seem to have any appetite lately; however, his weight seems to be increasing alarmingly despite that fact, and he just nearly fainted.”

“Damn it Jim. Are you seriously not to tell your first officer?”

Jim looked up at Bones with big, beadily eyes.

Bones sighed.

“If it concerns the captain’s health…” Spock continued.

“Spock,” Jim sighed, _so much for not saying anything until after they reached Jupiter Station._ He took a deep breath. He knew he would need it. He paused for another beat half hoping that Bones would bail him out. “I’m pregnant.”

At that moment, Jim saw what a surprised Vulcan looked like. After knowing Spock for nearly seven years, Jim could finally claim he finally managed to stun his half Vulcan science officer. This was not the circumstances that he had hoped for, but sometimes the world just does not roll that way.

He would have said more were it not for the sudden squeal that broke the silence. Both Jim and Bones whipped around to be greeted by Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, and Scotty.

_Well fuck…_

“When it rains, it never drizzles. It always pours. I guess in terms of news; it is the same.” Jim sighed. “Come in and shut that door.” He was definitely not risking anymore ‘ear droppers’.

He watched as they filed in. They formed a small line. He noted the close proximity between Uhura and Spock. The distance was as small as his and Bones. Jim wondered if it had always been like that.

By then, Spock no longer looked stunned. He still looked confused, or as if the universe had decided to spin in the opposite direction. Maybe in this case, it was not that far off.

“Captain, I do not understand. My understanding of human physiology is that males do not carry the young.”

“That is correct.”

“So…”

“Mr. Spock.” Jim rubbed his brow. “There were events that transpired on Beta Micron V that Dr. McCoy and I neglected to detail in any of our reports.”

He saw that startled look flash over Spock’s face again. Jim could not fault his first officer for that. It had been a long time since he conveniently omitted anything from his captain’s logs, and when he did, it usually meant something had drastically gone wrong. He had learned that lesson well, and being this far into space, it was not the admiralty was going to recall them for most infringements.

“Captain, if…”

“Spock,” Uhura laid her hand over Spock’s. “Captain, maybe it would be easier to just explain from the beginning.”

“Of course.” Jim nodded. “Better sit down.” There was a shuffle of seats as they took their customary places around the oblong discussion table in the center of Jim's ready room. “As you all know, Bones and I went down to Beta Micron V to cure the illness. You also know we spent nearly two weeks down there…”

There was a round of nods.

“Long story short, it turns out in the N’irthan society the males carry the young. They treasure their young and believe they are one of the best gifts in the universe. It’s safe to assume that while we were learning about them, they were similarly studying us. So, after Bones cured the plague, well, the N’irthans believe gifts are the strongest form of gratitude.”

“So they gave you reproductive organs,” Spock finished.

“Yes.” For some reason it seemed less absurd coming out of Spock’s lips than his or Bones’ or even S’ara’s had been for weeks now.

“But… why…how...” Chekov smattered. He immediately flushed red and looked hasty away.

“Laddie,” Scotty injected before setting a hand on the young navigator’s shoulders. Jim saw Scotty smirk at him and Bones.

_Damn…_

He wondered how long his chief engineer had known. Chekov turned even redder. He coloring mimicked that of a small ripe tomato.

“But Sir, it has been weeks…” Sulu added.  Jim noted the shared confusion between the members of his crew, minus Scotty who just looked... very smug.  Before he could answer, Bones finally spoke up.  

“The N’irthans believe that the children are special.”

“Children?”

“Quadruplets,” the words rolled from Jim’s tongue easier now. In the time since he and Bones first saw the four sacs on the screen, he was starting to grow accustomed to the idea.

It was the second time that he saw a stunned Vulcan.

“The N’irthans believe that the children are 'the beginning of the dawn of the new future'.” Bones rolled his eyes. Bones definitely did not share the N’irthan religious beliefs. He was a man of a science like Spock.

“As a result they signed the trade argument and petitioned to join the Federation.” Spock had reached the conclusion, and when it came to Spock, he was rarely wrong.

“Correct.”

“Which explains why we never turned back.”

“Correct again, Mr. Spock.”

Scotty clapped his hands together. “Well, this calls for congratulations then.” Scotty grinned and clapped both Bones and Jim on the shoulders. The bridge crew blinked, almost in unison. “Clearly the wee ones are the doctor’s,” Scotty answered with that smug tone of voice. The one he used on visiting dignitaries who were convinced that Scotty did not know the proper way to care for the Enterprise.

“That’s correct,” Bones muttered.

Jim was not sure which one of them flushed redder.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then the crew...

Jim was not sure why he even entertained the thought of hiding his pregnancy from the rest of the crew after that day in his ready room.  Both Scotty and Chekov had a tendency to let their mouths run when drunk, and Uhura was the communication's officer.  

In two days’ time, he heard crew members whose ranks were as high as lieutenants down to the youngest ensigns whispering about their captain and doctor's gift.  Most of the time Jim turned a blind eye and ear to the gossip vine on board the Enterprise.

Jim had learned a long time ago that a starship was no different from a high school setting. He understood that living, sentient beings had a tendency towards gossip. It sometimes even helped with productivity based on Spock’s findings a few years ago. Plus, according to Bones, it definitely helped prevent the onset of ‘cabin fever’.

“Not everyone can look at the stars roll by day in and day out like you can, Jim, and not get bored,” Bones grumbled to him years ago. They had been sharing a bottle of ale gifted by a visiting dignitary in a small alcove located in the forward observation deck. “Or start to doubt their mortality. We’re just tiny, insignificant beings traveling around in a ship made out of transparent aluminum…”

 At that point Jim had pulled the bottle from Bones’ hands.

Bones ranted more when he drank, and Jim knew where that conversation was going…

_Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence._

However, this was not one of those cases.

No one was at risk of cabin fever, not with the impending arriving at Jupiter Station. Nor was productivity really an issue these days. Jim had been relaxing on duties roosters for days now. At this moment, they were sailing home at ‘space normal’ speeds, which really did not require much of a crew to run.  

But mainly, Jim was developing a headache from it all.

The acoustics on a starship were amazing. Jim had discovered that years ago. That fact had saved them on numerous occasions.

Thus Jim could easily hear all the muttering of the crew members in the mess hall. Alpha shift had just ended and for once he and Bones had decided to eat their dinner with the rest of the crew.

He was starting to regret this decision as he picked forebodingly at his plate. It was the standard, multicolored synthesized blocks and a stack of green leaves. It was the only thing on the menu without aroma or taste, and it still made him sick.

He set his fork down and reached for his glass of water which Bones had helpfully spiked with a tinge of mint. The movement rustled his uniform and caused the hem to rise upwards revealing a tiny shiver of skin. He noted at least twenty pairs of eyes wandering down at his stomach before quickly turning away.  

Jim pulled his arm back.    

He was the captain, damn it. He could not let this continue.

He pushed back on his chair before standing up.  Bones looked up at him with a startled expression. For a split second he wondered if he should discuss this with Bones, but the startled looks that were being shot in their direction clearly indicated that it was too late for any discussion.

He would just have to deal with Bones later.

He marched over to the comm panel on the side of the wall and quickly depressed it before his mind could catch up any further.  He could feel over a dozen pair of eyes following him.  

"Attention crew, this is your captain speaking.  To prevent further gossip and curiosity which I know you are all incapable of after serving together for five years."  Jim smiled as he watched the necks of several crew members in the mess hall redden.  He watched as they nearly simultaneously looked down at their plates.

He took a deep breath before continuing.

He did trust his crew. They were the finest men and women in the Federation, and he meant it. He meant it every time he told a visiting dignitary, every time he wrote his quarterly reports, and every time he praised them during one of his captain’s logs.

They were family. They had always been family since the first time he sacrificed himself for them so many years ago.

"During our last stop on Beta Micron V, Dr. McCoy and I were blessed by the denizens of that planet.  We are happy to announce that we will be proud parents of four children in the coming months.  That is all."  Jim punched the comm link again to terminate the connection.  

As he slipped back into the seat, the mess hall erupted with loud cheers.

“Ever one for dramatics, Jim,” Bones muttered under his breath.

Jim noted the fond smile and slight twinkle in Bones’ hazel eyes.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Jim really should have never been worried about the crew’s reactions. He was not sure why he had kept it a secret after the many rounds of congratulations both he and Bones received.  

He really did have the best crew in the universe.

It also turned out Scotty was not the only one who had guessed their relationship, or in some cases lack of a romantic relationship until recently. It had turned out most crew members had always assumed he and Bones had been in a low profile relationship.  

And then there was Christine Chapel, she cornered him when Jim had wandered into sickbay for his daily checkup the next morning.

Bones had left him a cryptic message on his PADD to meet in the main med bay that morning.

“I thought you were the CMO,” Jim muttered after he managed to escape into Bones’ office. He would never admit it to anyone, maybe not even to Bones, but Christine Chapel was one scary woman.

“I told you hiding it, was a bad idea.”

“You still should have warned me,” Jim lamented as he collapsed onto Bones’ standard issue couch. He sank into the middle of it like always. He never could figure out how Bones found these couches. His last one, which he had for more than two years, was too hard. This one was too soft. “I did not need _that_ , this early in the morning.”

“It’s human, Jim. She’s just the only one to put it into so many words.” Bones responded warily before crossing his office and sitting down next to Jim.  

“You’re starting to sound like Spock.”

“Now that is uncalled for,” Bones grumbled. However, Jim knew now after nearly seven years, Bones had come a long way with his relationship with Spock. He could even say they were friends.

Bones sighed before placing a hand on his thigh. “I know where you’re coming from, Jim. This change…”

Jim scoffed.

_When did this become simply a ‘change’?_

A change would be like that one time when everyone aboard the Enterprise had turned into reptiles after passing through that subspace anomaly.

“Sorry, that sounded wrong.”

“No, it’s what we agreed, Bones. For now all that matters is the babies.”

“And you, Jim.”

“Right.” Jim placed his hand over Bones’. “That means we won’t do anything about the alterations until after they’re born.”

Bones nodded. “But Christine and hell your whole crew, Jim, they care about you. That’s one of the most amazing thing about you, how loyal they are…”

“Aw fuck Bones…” Jim could see where this was going. “I really fucked up, huh?”

“No, Jim,” Bones responded just as quickly. “As I told you before, this ship is filled with geniuses. They know you… we…” Bones quickly amended. “Both needed time. Christine just wants to make sure you don’t forget about them.”

“And that’s why you left that message on my PADD.” Really, despite Bones’ protests, Bones was also one of those geniuses.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Because Jim did understand, and this was his crew, his next ultrasound was performed in the main med bay. He was surprised by the large assembly of crew members who had conveniently shown up at the same time.

They swore up and down they needed medical treatment.  Bones raised an eyebrow and grumbled humorously that that was not a fucking exhibition as he poured a large helping of the gel on his growing abdomen.

Jim smiled as the image fizzled into place. It had been weeks since his last ultrasound. He immediately noticed that they were all much bigger. Unlike the first scan where they were just small black blobs or later even they started to look like little tad pools, Jim did not need Bones to explain what he was seeing this time. He could easily distinguish the tiny jumbo of arms, legs and even eye sockets that floated in his womb.

_They were his children..._

_Their children..._

Jim smiled at the collective ‘aww’s and ‘oh’s in the med bay. His smile widened when he spotted Spock at the doorway. He noted the slight upturn in his first officer’s lips. He nodded once to Spock, who returned it just as discreetly before hurrying away.   Jim noted the faint green tint at the tips of his first officer’s pointy ears.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Jim also was not surprised when he discovered betting pools had been set up following his announcement.  There were ones for gender, birth date, weight, appearance and even how many would become Starfleet captains or CMOs.    

Scotty insisted they would all be engineers.  “The wee lads and lasses will follow Uncle Scotty around in engineering.”

Even Spock surprisingly had his own input. “The children will clearly be brilliant in their endeavors… whatever they may be.”

It was Jim’s secret, but he did catch Spock reading ‘how-to' guides on introducing the love of science to young children in the recreation room before their almost regular 3D chess match.

Uhura was already amassing a long list of languages she wanted to teach the children.   There were languages that Jim had not even heard on the list, and he always thought he was at least halfway decent at xenolinguists. “I always hated how long I waited before I started learning languages.  They say the younger you are, the easier it is.”

“Russian, Russian is the mother of all languages,” Chekov nodded his head in agreement.  “The first known set of quadruplets was Russian.”

Spock raised an eyebrow.  “Mr. Chekov…”

Uhura rolled her eyes and set her hand on Spock’s arm.     

Jim laughed.  He absently found himself rubbing his belly.  

Bones groaned.  


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then finally everyone else because Vulcans just can't lie...

It was not the crew’s reactions that Jim should have worried about.  He had completely forgotten about Spock’s one lasting fault even after all these years.  Vulcans really could not lie.  They could make ‘exaggerations’ but could not lie.

Later Jim would blame it on his _condition_.

However that morning, as he sat in his ready room facing down the admiralty, he could not believe how he had forgotten.

What should have been a routine transmission; the one he had almost daily now as they were only days out from Jupiter Station, was turning out to be anything but. 

He should have known something was wrong when Barnett was not the only admiral present that morning.  He was accompanied by Admiral Noyes.

“This five year mission was a trial, Kirk.  You’ve always known that,” Barnett chided.    Barnett had always been a sensible and fair man.  Jim would never admit it, but he respected the man.  He had been the one to present him with his captain stripes years ago.  “You know that there are many fractions in the Federation who are against all of this that want to shut down the exploration section of Starfleet.  Those that feel we do not need to add additional members to the Federation, that we cannot help the members we already have.”

Jim knew they were talking about the Vulcans.  He still felt guilty sometimes that he had not kept up with the colony on New Vulcan.  From the last news he had heard, their birth rate still had not gone up even after preventing the insanity experienced by some Vulcan males during their seven year Pon Farr cycles on New Vulcan.  Vulcan reproduction had never been high; however, before the destruction of Vulcan it had mattered less.  Vulcans naturally had a longer life span than most.     

“You’ve ruined everything, Kirk,” Noyes injected.  While Noyes was the complete opposite, Jim had learned years later that he had been one of the strongest voices in attempting to send him back to Academy after the Nibiru incident.  “You’ve made everything a farce, Kirk.”

He was really starting to develop a strong headache.  He could feel the blood vessels in his skull palpitating.   Jim nodded, because there was not anything else he could do.  He reached for his glass of water and took a deep gulp.

“Do you realize the amount of paperwork and press statements we’ll have to make?”  Noyes continued.  “This will turn the Federation upside down, Kirk.  It really will.  Male pregnancy, it’s only supposed to happen in fairy tales.”

_No, in fairy tales the princess marries a prince and lives happily ever after._

This was definitely not a fairy tale.

“For this to have happened during an away mission, one whose people are currently petitioning to join the Federation, we explained how important Beta Micron V is to the Federation, Kirk.”

“And they should,” Jim cut in.  Despite what happened, it did not override everything Jim knew about S’ara’s people.  There were many things Jim felt the Federation could learn from her people and vice versa.  

He saw Noyes’ face redden further.  However, he was further impressed that Barnett’s expression did not change.   He looked as serious as ever.  “My reports…”

“Your reports,” Noyes sneered, “your reports that left out a large gaping hole.  Have you learned nothing, Kirk?”

“It did not seem important to include.  Pregnancies do not have to be reported until the start of the second trimester as stated in the Starfleet codes.”  

“Code?!  Then unless you do not understand anything about how reproduction works.  Fraternizing with crew members or with visiting dignitaries with your rank is a serious offense.”

"I've read the rule books, Admiral." Jim made sure to stress out the ‘word’ admiral.  "The rules state the fraternizing restriction is for those with a rank difference of greater than two."

He left off Bones' name because he did not know if Spock mentioned Bones in his reports.  

"Of course, Kirk," Noyes responded icily.  He could detect the contempt and mocking nature in Noyes' voice. A young Jim would have lashed out and taken the bait, but he was older now.  Older and wiser, so he bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything that could actually get him into trouble.

"Noyes..." Barnett barked. He noted how the other admiral faltered for half a second.  Barnett sighed.  He rubbed his forehead.  "There will backlash, Kirk, and most likely a hearing, for both you and Dr. McCoy."

_Well fuck..._

And really the conversation only spiraled down from there.

It was another two hours, before Jim finally managed to terminate the connection. 

He had missed lunch, and all he wanted to do was sleep.  Spock probably would not miss him too much.  There was not much to do on the bridge these days.  They were mostly operating with a skeleton crew these days anyways.  He could afford to take a nap. 

He was pulling off his gold shirt when the doors to his quarters ‘swished’ open.  He turned his head to see an annoyed Bones standing at the doorway. 

He was carrying a tray.

_Fuck!_

He had forgotten about his lunch date with Bones. 

The annoyance on Bones’ face was immediately replaced by worry.

“Darlin’?”  Bones crossed the room in three quick strides.  He set the tray down on his desk before wrapping his arms around his ever expanding waistline.

“Sorry.”  Jim muttered into the folds of Bones’ shirt.  He smelt of anesthetic and hypo sprays.  Bones had started working his way through his pre disembarkment inventory of the medical supplies they still had left over. 

He vaguely remembered Bones grousing about it the night before as he dozed against Bones’ lap.  “Damn it, I’m a doctor not a warehouse clerk.” 

“You missed lunch,” Bones muttered.  He brushed back his ever lengthening bangs.  He really should get it cut, among other things.  It was starting to become not regulation length.  “And you feel feverish,” Bones chided.

“Damn admirals,” Jim muttered offhandedly as Bones maneuvered him towards the bed.  Long ago that meant good things.  Now, well, now it meant none of that and more of Bones fretting over him.  Hell, he worried when Jim sneezed.  Bones seemed almost glued to his tricorder these days.   

Bones tensed at the word ‘admirals’. Bones might hate their ‘meddling’ more than Jim did.

Bones saw the admirals as interlopers.  What did they know about the dangers of deep space travel?  It had been nearly thirty years since the last deep space mission.  Most of the admirals these days had never traveled further than the boundaries of the Federation, and only a handful had even exchanged words with a Romulan or a Klingon.  

When Bones did not comment instead eased him onto the bed, Jim thought he had just imagined it.  He then proceeded to unlace his boots and slowly pull them off his feet.  They dropped loudly onto the floor. 

He watched as Bones crossed the room and picked up the tray of food he had left on his desk.  He looked at it curiously.  He had been expecting a sandwich or something, not a bowl of soup.  Jim looked at it curiously as Bones balanced it precariously on his lap.

It was a red violet color.  It looked like tomato soup. 

“Tomato soup?”  Jim asked doubtfully.  He wondered why Bones would have brought him tomato soup after his last encounter just a few days ago.  There were only a handful of items left that he could eat without immediately throwing up, and tomato soup was not one of them.  He could already feel his stomach churning from the memory.  At least his waste bin was close by.

“Plomeek,” Bones clarified.  He spooned up a mouthful and pressed it into Jim’s gaping mouth before he could counter. 

He knew what Plomeek was. 

Just as Jim had always assumed, it really did not taste much of anything.  He could hardly taste any hint of seasoning as it tickled past his tongue and down his throat.  Bones looked at him expectedly.   He wiped the spoon against the rim of the bowl.  

Jim knew what Bones was waiting for, those crucial two minutes.   

When they passed, Bones looked … miffed?  “Damn green goblin was correct,” he groused before spooning up another serving. 

Jim’s eyes widened.  “I didn’t know chef could make plomeek.”

“He can’t,” Bones replied as he pressed the spoon into Jim’s mouth. 

Jim swallowed it quickly before speaking.  He doubted Bones made it.  It was not that Bones could not cook.  In fact, Bones made some of the best Southern baked beans he had ever tasted.  Although in his condition, that was be extremely stupid.  “Then?”

“Christine made it.”

“Chapel?”

“It seems Janice, Nyota and Christine have become cooking buddies over the years.” 

“And Chapel cooked for me?

“I think she feels bad about scolding you that morning in sick bay.”

“I still can’t believe you didn’t come rescue me.”

“Didn’t think you needed it, Captain,” Bones jokingly responded.  A small smile appeared on the corner of his lips.  It sent a shiver down his neck, and his pants suddenly felt uncomfortably tight.

“Jim?”  Bones asked worriedly as he feed him again. 

Jim placed a hand over Bones’ right hand before he could raise the spoon again.  He leaned over and pressed a kiss against the nape of Bones’ neck.  He smiled at the reaction it caused.  At least he still had his skills, despite not using them for so long.  “Jim.” 

“Hmm…”

“We can’t.”

“Can’t what?” Jim asked between kisses.

“Have sex.”

Jim immediately froze.  He immediately pulled back.  “What?”

Bones sighed.

“We can’t have sex.  I told you already.  Multiple pregnancies are risky.”

Jim nodded miserably.  It sucked, but he would have to deal.  He cupped the sides his slightly swollen abdomen.  “Fine.”

Bones kissed him on the nose before feeding him another spoonful of plomeek.

“So what did Barnett want?”

“Huh?”

“The admiralty…”

“Oh.”

_Of course Bones was not going to let it drop so easily._

"I’m guessing its Barnett, at least.”  Bones amended.  “However I’m surprised he gave you a headache.  He seems like one of the more understanding admirals.”

Jim smirked.  “Did you just praise Barnett?”

Bones sighed.  “I tell the truth, although…”

“Nah, it was actually Noyes.”

Bones’ eyes darkened.    

"It seems Spock..."

"Damn hob..."

Before Bones could finish, his console beeped.  Jim sighed.  He pushed himself upwards and hastily pulled on his gold shirt before walking over to his desk.  He depressed the button.  Barnett and head of Starfleet Medical Philip Boyce's face fizzled into vision.  Jim had only spoken to Boyce a handful of times.  He had been Pike’s CMO and Bones’ advisor, so Jim knew him.  They had talked at functions over the years, and sometimes he walked in on Bones conversing with the elder doctor where they would exchange polite salutations.

This was exactly what he needed, round two.  

"Admiral Barnett, Doctor Boyce," Jim acknowledged.   "Where's Admiral Noyes?"  He really did not care, but he figured he should at least collect some clues about what he was dealing with.  He had already made the mistake earlier of not finding out.

He noted the slight quirk in Boyce's mouth and subtle twinkle in Barnett's eyes.  "Probably fuming..."

Jim blinked, unsure what to say.

Barnett laughed.  It was one of the few times he did so.  "He's a hard man to get along with, but he does care.  You should learn to get along with him."

Jim did not want to mention that he had tried, long ago.  "Anyways, this call is to say.”  Barnett sighed.  “You must have good friends in high places..."

Jim blinked, unsure how to comment.

"I see... Well..." Barnett held up a PADD.  

Jim recognized it as the San Francisco Morning Sun.  It was one of the most highly read newspapers in the Federation.  

"I..."

Barnett tapped the bottom right hand corner of the front page.

He did not even need to read the headline to know.  There in all its black and white glory was an image Jim recognized immediately after having seen it just the other day.  

"I..."

Barnett picked up another PADD.  This one was the New York Times.  It had the exact same picture but this time Jim caught the headline before Barnett showed him another newspaper and another and another.  Some were not even in Standard or from Earth.

They all shared similar sentiments about 'medical breakthroughs' to being heralded as the 'second coming'.

It was on the last article Barnett showed him, the one from Neo Vulcan that Jim realized.  He did not even try to hide his surprise at that point.

“The Vulcan high council believes this is the solution to their problems?”

Barnett sighed.  “I’m sorry Jim.”

Jim pressed his hands down on his table.  Really, a thousand things could have happened.  _Maybe… maybe he could…_

He felt Bones slid up next to him. He felt him wrap his arms protectively around his abdomen.  “Sorry Admiral, Doctor,” Bones acknowledged both men.  “Jim and the babies are not going to be guinea pigs, Federation laws protect them…”

He saw Barnett’s smile widened.  “Dr.  McCoy,” he raised his hand.  “I know you don’t always agree with the admiralty.  You see us as old men who never made it past old Vulcan…”

Jim felt Bones bristle.

“But… we really aren’t that bad.  We’re not all like Marcus or April.  Jim won’t be a test subject; however, this does simplify the admittance process for the denizens of Beta Micron V.  The president has already issued a formal request to send the Constitution along with a team of delegates out for negotiations.  I believe a team of Vulcan scientists will be accompanying them.”

Jim felt Bones relax. 

“We just called to tell you… congratulations, but don’t do it again.”  Barnett added quickly, a knowing smile on his face. 

Bones slipped away as he muttered his ‘thanks’. He knew he was not the only one in the room with a pair of slightly red ears.   

“Jim,” Barnett added.  Jim looked up.  He was ready to terminate the transmission.  “Christopher Pike wasn’t wrong about you.  Keep them close.”

“I will,” Jim nodded.  He watched as Barnett’s face disappeared on his console.  When he turned around, he had a smile on his face.

Bones was sitting on the edge of his bed.  He looked a little put out.

“What were you about to say about Spock?”

“Oh shut up.”  Bone muttered. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The eve of disembarkment...

As they crept closer and closer to Jupiter Station, the subspace frequency became flooded with congratulations towards the "Enterprise Quads", which the babies had been affectionately named.  It also became apparent that the Vulcans were not the only interested representatives of the Federation.  In fact, couples from all over the Federation were sending in inquires to Starfleet for when they too could be similarly blessed.

It was a total bureaucratic nightmare that luckily that had since far been spared from.  

Of course, the babies’ ultrasounds were being sent to Starfleet Headquarters with final debriefings reports.  

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

On the eve of disembarkation, Jim awoke to a ‘surprise’.  He had fallen asleep in Bones’ strong arms.  Jim found he slept better when he was lulled to sleep by Bones’ deep breathing. 

It had been a long day and night the day before.  They were due into Jupiter Station in a little over twenty-four hours.  Disembarkation of a crew this size was a large undertaking.  The Enterprise was going to dock at Jupiter Station which meant all her crew that did not have immediate reassignment had to be shuttled to San Francisco Shipyard where they then could be beamed or shuttled down to the surface.

It was a logistics nightmare. 

His head was still spinning from all the regulations and codes Spock had read to him concerning the beam down order.  He had gone to bed thinking about whether engineer’s ensigns or operation’s ensigns went first. 

He sighed contently as he lay in his bed.  Bones’ warm body pressed up against him.  The soft hum of the Enterprise’s warp core pulsated through the floor boards.  He was going to miss that sound.   He pressed a kiss to the top of Bones’ hair and was greeted to the smell of autumn spices. 

Jim had discovered long ago that Bones’ shampoo changed with the seasons.  Even in space, Bones managed to acquire the matching scents.  He explained once that it helped him forget that he was floating in space in a tin can for a few moments every day.

He had forgotten it was already fall on Earth.  It was almost Halloween in fact.  One Jim’s favorite days of the year, back at the Academy he used to con Bones into dressing up in elaborate matching costumes to the annual Starfleet Halloween Ball.    

Bones’ hazel eyes fluttered open.  A small, lazy smile appeared on his face.  “’Morning. Darlin’.”  He whispered into Jim’s ear, causing a thrill of flutters to flow through his spine and his toes to curl inward.  His cock jumped to life, and miserably Bones still refused to touch him. 

Returning to Earth meant more doctors, and right now, of all the other reasons, that reason was high on Jim’s list of things he was looking forward to.  Because damn it, he was not going to stay celibate for the whole pregnancy. 

“Damn it Bones, you shouldn’t be able to that,” Jim responded with very little heat in his words.

“Do what?” Bones asked.  His eyes twinkled.  He pressed a kiss to Jim’s forehead before getting out of bed.

“Where you going?”  Jim whined, a little annoyed at losing Bones’ warmth.

“Work, disembarkment, ‘member?”  Bones raised an eyebrow. 

“Erg,” Jim hummed out.  He twisted around.  Maybe he used a little too much force, but as he landed on his back, he felt like he just got the wind knocked out of him.  He gasped out.  

“Jim?”  Bones was by his side seconds later.  He placed a hand against his back and gently helped him upwards. 

“What the fuck!”

“Jim?”

He ignored Bones and pushed back his blanket.   What once appeared to look merely like he gained a few pounds around his middle, this morning was a small, circular orb.  He felt Bones take in a deep breath.

“Oh fuck.” 

He felt Bones sit down behind him and gently wrapped his arms around his bump.  “We knew this would happen sooner or later.”

“I was kind of hoping for later,” Jim grumbled back.  He ran his hand along the sides.  He knew he was just betting against time, but Bones had told him his height gave him an advantage.  It meant the longer his uterus rested below his pelvis, he wouldn’t look noticeably pregnant.  Now, there was no turning back.

“I know darlin’. I know.”  Bones muttered.   He creased his abdomen once more between pressing a long kiss against Jim’s lips.  He slipped away after that leaving Jim to dejectedly cup his swollen abdomen.   It felt hard and heavy.  Most of all, his belly button, which Jim always found strange, was perturbing outwards.  He ran his fingers against the tiny mound of skin and gently pressed it backwards.

“Jim!” Bones slapped his hand gently away.  “What are you doing?”

“It’s weird,” Jim whined.   He pouted and crossed his arms. 

Bones rolled his eyes.  “It’s cute.”

Jim opened his mouth to protest.

It was definitely not cute.

Bones pressed a kiss against his belly before dropping his uniform next to him.  He was already wearing his uniform.

“It’s not.”

“It is.  It’s our babies.  Growing inside of you.” 

“You’re strange, Bones.”  Jim rolled his eyes. He reached for his black undershirt, and it pulled it over his head.  As he tugged on the bottom edges, he found that it barely covered his stomach.  There was a large shiver of flesh plainly visible.  Despite common perception, Starfleet uniforms were not elastic. When he pulled on his Starfleet issued pants, he noted that even Uhura's hair ties would no longer hold them together.

“I look ridiculous,”Jim grumbled 

Bones rolled his eyes.  He tossed him a pair of dark black sweatpants and a large t-shirt.   “These aren’t regulation clothes,” Jim commented.

“I thought you were a genius." 

“I am,” Jim stated as he tugged off the black shirt and pulled on the baggy t-shirt.  He immediately recognized it was one of Bones’ old Ole Miss shirts that he frequently slept in back at the academy.  He used to steal Bones’ clothes because he found they were more comfortable to sleep in.  Bones had a larger build than him.  His clothes usually hid it, but Bones was muscular.  The sweatpants hugged his hips comfortably unlike his regulation pants.  Most of all, they rested under his belly.  “I can’t disembark in this though.”

He knew his crew was not going to say anything.  Spock might give him a questionable look, but he knew the admirals would definitely cite a thousand regulations he was breaking.

“You’re not.  You’re going to the costume department to get some better fitting clothes.”

“The costume department?”  Jim blinked as Bones disappeared into the bathroom he shared with Spock and by default Uhura.  He tugged on his boots. 

God they too felt a little tighter today than they were yesterday. 

He padded into the bathroom and leaned against the door.   He watched as Bones started his daily regimen.  Bones was a sexy man.  He had always been a sexy man, but Jim couldn’t deny that Bones without his hair matted and gelled was much hotter.  That was one thing he was looking forward to the most about being planet side. 

Being planet side also meant no more shared bathrooms or tiny living spaces… it also meant walls that weren’t paper thin.

Bones was half way though shaving when Jim spoke again.  “Why the costume department?”

Bones turned to look at him.  He rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “Because as much as you love those god forsaken missions that involve ‘dress up’…”

“Incognito, Bones,” Jim corrected easily. 

“Fine incognito,” Bones corrected.  He rolled his eyes again.  “You know they similarly love to dress you up.”

Jim opened his mouth.

“I don’t think any other ship in the fleet has as many ‘wardrobe’ changes.”

“Bonesy, it’s important to look our best, and they are very functional.”

“Even the knee pads?”  Bones quirked.

“Spock’s report showed reduced dermal damage when we used those pants.”

“Right.”  Bones placed his sonic razor down.  “Which is why you know they would love this opportunity.”

And really there wasn’t anything Jim could say in defiance. 

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Which was why after breakfast- a bowl of flavorless oatmeal and a glass of orange juice, his morning sickness was still strong, he went down to the costume department.   Bones kissed him ‘good-bye’ at the fork.

Just as Bones had predicted, thecostume department was ecstatic.   They were a flamboyant group.  He just hoped they would come up with something halfway decent.  One of the bots took his measurements.  He almost faltered when he spotted the measurements for his abdomen. 

_He wasn’t that big, was he?_

He was instructed to come back during the mid-morning break.  The one Jim and most of his crew didn’t take. 

Spock, as expected, gave him a pointed look when he arrived on the bridge in Bones’ sweatpants and t-shirt.  The rest of his bridge crew at least had more tact.  Chekov even greeted him with one of his more charming smiles.  

Jim clapped Spock on the shoulder, a habit he never quite broke since their early days together.

“We’re on schedule, captain.”

“Good.”  Jim nodded.  He turned to Uhura’s station.

“Any more transmissions from the admiralty, lieutenant?”

Uhura spun around in her chair.  “Nothing urgent on any of the channels, captain.  Just well wishes and a speedy journey.”

“Very good.”  Jim nodded before settled into his chair.   He accepted his PADD from Janice with a smile.   

There were even more reports today from his department heads than the day before.  He really should have requested them earlier, and because Jim cared he read them all.  He read every word they sent him because that was the kind of person he was.  However, at this point Jim was regretting not asking for the final reports earlier. 

An hour into shift, Jim handed the conn over to Spock and disappeared into his ready room.  He couldn’t handle sitting in his chair for much longer than an hour at a time lately.  It wasn’t that the chair wasn’t comfortable.  It was just most his work these days involved paper work and without a table to lean against it was just too awkward to write. 

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He jolted awake when his console buzzed.  If anyone asked, he would say he was just resting his eyes.  “Kirk here,” he responded quickly.

“Captain,” Jim immediately recognized it as Jensen, from the costume department.  He glanced over at his chronometer. 

_Fuck…_

The midmorning break was more than half way over.

“Your uniform is ready, captain.”

“Be right there, Ensign.”  Jim acknowledged before terminating the connection.

Jim was not sure how he felt, but he could say he was pleasantly surprised when Jensen presented him with a light greenish yellow wrap around that were attached on the side by an almost invisible adhesive and a pair of regulation pants. 

“It enhances your glow, Captain,” Jensen explained as he motioned for Jim to enter the changing room.

Jim pulled off Bones’ shirt.  He was momentarily pained at haven to remove it. 

Jim had been avoiding mirrors lately when he was in state of undress.  However the sight before him startled him.  God, he looked huge.  Jim cupped the sides of his abdomen.  He still could not believe that four tiny human beings were growing inside of him.  Bones had told him they would be about the size of limes now. 

He sighed before pulling on the shirt.   It felt surprisingly light.  He tucked the right side underneath the left side.  Once closed, it surprisingly looked like it was a solid shirt.

His captain stripes radiated around his wrists.  The gold on green looked good.  Jim vaguely wondered why they had chosen gold for command as opposed to green.  The green seemed to look… right.

He shook that thought from his mind as he pulled on his new slacks.  Like Bones’ sweatpants they had drawstrings; however, they looked like regulation pants.  Most of all, for once he did not feel like he was spilling out from his pants.

He waved to the costume department personnel before leaving to return to the bridge.

Chekov chirped out an excited ‘captain on the bridge’.  He was definitely going to miss that.

The bridge was empty save for Spock, Uhura, Chekov and Sulu.  He looked at Spock questionably; however, it was Uhura who answered.

“The rest of the crew are packing.”

Jim nodded.  It made sense.  They were only hours away from disembarkment, and really at this point they only need someone to pilot them home.

Jim sank into his chair. 

He placed a hand on his abdomen before staring out into the great beyond.  They had returned.  He recognized the star patterns as they sailed by.  He had spent hours as a young boy looking out at these exact same stars, never once thinking or even dreaming about sailing through them.

He was going to miss this. 

He was so engrossed that he did not even hear Spock approach his right side.  “The green suits you, Captain,” Spock commented.

Jim nearly jumped out of his seat.  He looked up at Spock.  His ears had a faint trace of green.  He looked over his shoulder at Uhura.  There was a smile on her face.  She had obviously put Spock up to this.

“Thanks, Spock,” Jim smiled back.  

Spock nodded before quickly rotating on the balls of his feet to return to his station.

Spock was not the only one who complimented him on his new uniform.  Hell, by the end of the day he was becoming a little warily of the compliments.  There were even ensigns who were usually too flustered to speak to him outside of assignments complimenting him.  By then he knew something had to be amiss.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He returned to his quarters alone that night.  Bones had sent him a message that he would be late, that something had gone awry in engineering. 

He dropped into his Starfleet issued couch and dug out a PADD, one of the few he had not packed away. 

He was going to wait for Bones.  They had to talk.

He was sipping a glass of crushed orange soda without the carbonation.  He never liked it as a child but lately he been craving it.  It helped to calm his stomach and his most recent symptom: heart burn, and reading Gulliver’s Travels when the doors opened.  Bones stumbled inside.  He looked tired and exhausted, and for a second Jim felt guilty about ambushing him. 

Jim retracted his legs so that Bones could sit down.  Jim handed him his glass, but as expected Bones shook his head.  “Bad day?”  Jim asked. 

“Your engineers are sadists, Jim,” Bones muttered.  He leaned back against the couch. 

“Oh?”  Jim asked.  He set his PADD down on the table before pressing up against Bones’ side.  He immediately wrapped his arms around Jim, who found that comfortable spot against Bones’ ribs. 

“Complete sadists, don’t they know we’re only a few hours away from Jupiter Station?”  Bones muttered.

Jim glanced at the chronometer.  It was almost midnight. 

“It’s enthusiasm,” Jim quipped.  He poked Bones playfully in the ribs. 

“Enthusiasm?”  The legendary eyebrow raise appeared, and Jim laughed.

“Yes, I know somebody who gets just as enthusiastic when we find some new medicinal plant,” Jim added.

“Oh?”  Bones wrapped his arms a little tighter.

“Uh huh, remember that time we found the fabled ‘rainbow’ flower?”

“That plant cured eight previously incurable diseases,” Bones protested immediately.

Jim smiled.  He nodded his head knowingly.  “And getting it almost blew up half the ship.”  He remembered that mission.  He had been forced to separate the Enterprise into two separate pieces.  Scotty claimed he could hear her weeping for days after they finally managed to join her back together.  It was further collaborated when 0718 only answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to all his inquiries for a week. 

“You thought it was important too.”

“True.”  Jim laughed.  “That was one exciting mission though.”

Bones joined him seconds later.  “It was,” he acquiesced. 

“So…” Jim asked when he managed to control his laughing.  “What did they do?” 

“Scotty didn’t tell you?”

Jim shook his head.  “Learned a long time ago as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the ship or crew sometimes it is better not to know.”

“Like his still?”

“Lalala,” Jim plugged his ears and sang out.  Bones rolled his eyes.

The best kept secret on the Enterprise and thus naturally everyone who needed to know, knew. 

Bones pressed a kiss to his cheek before slipping off the couch.  Jim let out an indignant whine as Bones walked into the bathroom.  Jim followed.  He leaned against the doorway and watched as Bones started his night time routine.

Bones stopped moments later.  He cocked his head before smiling.  “They did good.”

“Huh?”

“Your uniform, it looks good on you.”

Jim’s face immediately darkened.  He had almost forgotten.

“What?” 

Jim crossed his arms.  “What did you do?”

Bones raised an eyebrow, questionably.  “What you talking about?”

“All day people have been complimenting me about my uniform.”

“And they should, you look good.”

Jim let out a loud, fake laugh.

Bones set his sonic toothbrush down.  He stepped forward, so they were only inches apart.  “You do.  You’ve always looked good, even that day I first met you… bang up with blood on your shirt.”

Jim looked at him indignantly.  

Bones cupped the sides of his face.  “I don’t think there is a soul on the Enterprise who would disagree.”

“Cause you probably threatened them with a hypo spray or something,” Jim pushed away.

Bones grabbed his wrist.  “Hey, where is this coming from?”

Jim sighed and turned on his heels.  He cupped the side of his abdomen.  "Do my hips look wider?  I swear I have man boobs Bones."  

"Jim."

“I’m fat and disgusting.”

“Jim.”  Bones gently placed his hand on each side of Jim’s face.  He pressed their foreheads together.  “You aren’t fat, and you aren’t disgusting.”

Jim scoffed.  He pushed backwards.  "I was supposed to return charming and handsome, Bones. This is not the body of the Federation’s most handsome captain."

Bones rolled his eyes.  He sat down into a chair before pulling Jim down on his lap.  Jim pulled a face while Bones just tightened his grip.  "First of all,” Bones tapped his arm gently, “the whole Federation is enamored by the babies.  Second, you still are handsome Darlin'," Bones muttered before capturing Jim's lips into a kiss.

Jim pulled away, a small smile on his face.  “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make everything better.  Make me forget…” 

“Practice…”  Bones muttered before capturing Jim’s lips with his own, once again. 

Jim pushed away.  “You didn’t right?”

Bones cocked his head to the side.

“You didn’t threaten the crew, right?”

Bones laughed.  He shook his head.  “No, I didn’t.  I think they were just being nice.”  He gently placed his hand on Jim’s abdomen.  “You got a good crew, Jim.”

Jim nodded.  “The best… and the best boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?”  Bones raised an eyebrow.  He looked ready to protest.

Jim chuckled.  “Okay that does sound sappy.” 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning of disembarkation...

And then came the morning of disembarkation.

It came sooner than Jim had expected.  He always knew this day would come.  He just had not expected it ever come so fast.

Bones was still asleep when he awoke.  He was not sure why he awoke initially.  His alarm had not gone off yet.  In fact there was another thirty minutes before it was due to go off.

He looked at Bones fondly.  His soft breathing tickled the side of Jim’s neck as he slept on.  He looked so young asleep. 

Jim sighed, contently.  He blinked back the sleep sand and pressed in a little deeper into his pillow. 

He smiled tenderly at his ever growing bump.  He ran his fingers over the sides.  The soft hum from the Enterprise’s engines as she sailed towards Jupiter Station filtered through his quarters.  “We’re almost back,” Jim muttered to himself, to his and Bones’ unborn babies.  He knew they couldn’t hear yet.  Bones had explained that to him, but that did not mean Jim did not like talking to the babies, especially in the early mornings, before he had to go on shift, before Bones woke up.

“Back on Earth, it’s been so long since Daddy and Papa seen Earth.  Papa and I met on Earth, years ago.  On a shuttle to the Academy, Papa didn’t like flying or shuttles back then.  Daddy had to teach him to like it.”

“Papa and Daddy?”  Bones’ deep chuckle rumbled against his side.  Jim nearly leapt out of his skin as Bones pressed a kiss against his collar blade. 

“You’re awake.”

“You’re too cute,” Bones muttered.  His kisses traveled down his chest.  He pressed four kisses against his belly before Bones rested his head against Jim’s belly.  Jim smile fondly as he ran his fingers through Bones’ soft black hair. 

“So are you.”  He stuck out his tongue, playfully.

“Papa and Daddy, huh?”

Jim flexed his toes, before nodding.  “Course, what else are they going to call us?”  Jim stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Bones grinned back at him, with the Kirk shit tooth smile. 

_Damn it, when did Bones learn to do that?!_

“Mommy and Daddy seem more appropriate though,” Bones answered.  He raised his head and pressed a long kiss against Jim’s lips, stifling the protest on his lips.

_Damnit, Bones knew him too well._

Jim managed to break the kiss.  He glared at Bones indignantly.  “I ain’t no Mommy.” 

Bones laughed.  “Right.”

“I ain’t,” Jim protested again.

“Okay Jimmy,” Bones replied.  He pressed another kiss against Jim’s lips.  Jim easily melted into it.  When they broke apart, Jim gave Bones an indignant look.  He grabbed Bones’ pillow before pressing it against his face. 

“Not a mommy.”

Bones’ deep chuckle rolled out from behind the pillow.  Jim heard a muffled ‘sure’ filter through before Bones moved backwards.  Bones’ face peeked out from behind the pillow.  There was a smile on his face.

“You really are too cute.”  Bones shook his head before getting up.

“Where you go?”

Bones turned around.  “Getting ready to disembark.  Aren’t you?”

Jim tilted his head.

“To disembark…” Bones stopped himself.  He tilted his head.  “You are… okay about it right?”

“Huh?”

“Leaving your precious silver lady,” Bones teased though Jim understood Bones was serious.  Since Jim got pregnant and they got together, it was one of the few things they hadn’t talked about.  This moment, this day when they would have to leave the Enterprise, the ship that had been their home for the last five years.

“Yeah,” Jim nodded.  He would be with Bones, and that… that would make it all okay.  Besides this was not farewell, it was not like he was not going to come back out into the black again.  This was just temporary, being planet side.  “I’m okay.”  He answered back.

He watched as Bones padded into the shared bathroom and waited from the quiet lull of the water as it cascaded down from the shower head.  He waited a few minutes longer before getting out of bed.  He slapped the alarm to turn it off before entering the bathroom.  A layer of steam had already formed on the glass panel of the shower.  Bones enjoyed his showers, which was a rare commodity onboard the Enterprise, hot.  It had taken Jim a while to get used to them.  He grabbed a towel before slipping inside the shower. 

Bones did not seem to notice.  He was too busy lathering his hair was shampoo. 

He lathered his hands with body wash before wrapping them around Bones’ chest.  He felt Bones jump slightly. 

"Christ Jim!" Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"  Bones quipped.  However there was very little malice in his words as Jim felt Bones melt against his touch.  Jim smiled, burrowing into Bones' muscular back.  He was going to miss doing that in a few more weeks when his abdomen swelled even more.  At least it was for a good thing though.

They stood like that for a long time under the water.  Longer than they probably should have, but Jim had a lot of unused water rations left over, so he did not feel particularly guilty, especially now that they were so close to Jupiter Station.

"Jim?"  Bones broke the silence. 

“Hmm?”  Jim muttered, a little sleepy.  He nuzzled deeper into Bones’ shoulder.  The warm water was making him tired. 

“Are you falling asleep on me?”  Bones asked his voice soft and tender.  There was not a morsel of annoyance in his voice.

“Hmm?”  Jim blinked.  He looked up at Bones who tilted his head to the side and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Jim’s forehead.  He pushed back his now wet bangs to exposed electric blue eyes.

“You sure you’re alright?”

Jim cocked his head, confused.  “What you mean?”

“Going back to Earth.  Where the admiralty and bureaucracy is thicker than molasses,” Bones clarified.

“Oh right.”  Jim burrowed himself deeper against Bones’ back.  He watched as the water cascaded down his body.  A body he still was not comfortable with, but each day he was becoming more and more accustomed to it.  The only thing that made all of this better was the silver lining, the light at the end of the tunnel.

"We'll do this again right?"  Jim eventually responded, his blue eyes burning and blazing.

"Huh?"

"Sail the stars.  This isn't _our_ last tour right?"  He made sure to emphasis the ‘our’. 

“You asking for permission?”  Bones raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“Hell no.”  Jim responded quickly.  “Just…”  He let go of Bones.  He creased his abdomen.  “It’s not just me anymore Bones.  Hell, it’s not even you and me anymore either.”  Jim pointed at himself and Bones.

A smile appeared on Bones’ face that was brighter than the brightest star in the universe.  He stepped forward.  He gently tilted Jim's chin upwards.  It was not far since they were almost the same height.  He gently pressed a kiss onto Jim's lips.  He cupped his cheeks.  "No, course not Darlin'.  You need the stars like the dolphins need the oceans."

Jim smiled melting into Bones' arms.

"But it'll still be nice to be on solid ground for a while."  Almost as an afterthought Bones added.  "Safer too, especially since you're carrying precious cargo now."

Jim rolled his eyes as Bones pulled away.  He reached behind Jim from the body wash. 

_Yeah... yeah he was._

He smiled as Bones ran his soapy hands over his breast and along his abdomen.

_Yeah, being back on Earth with Bones would not be that bad._

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Jim was pinning the last of his medals, he had not realized he had accumulated so many these last five years, when Bones returned with their breakfast.  Chef had closed down the kitchens after last night, so they had to resort to the food synthesizers for their last meal.  There was a smile on Bones' face as the set the tray down on the table.  "What?"

"Just thinking how proud I am of you."  He stepped forward and took the medal that Jim was holding.   “The one that started it all.”  Bones muttered.  The tapped the red ribbon attached to the medal before pinning it onto Jim’s dress shirt.  “Sometimes it seems like yesterday Barnett gave you this and made you captain.  While sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago. “

"When you get so cheesy Bones," Jim quipped, a smile on his face as he turned towards the mirror. 

Bones shrugged his shoulder as he grabbed his own dress jacket.   A scowl appeared on his face as he pulled it on.  Bones hated wearing his dress uniform more than Jim did.

“I feel like my neck’s in a sling,” Bones muttered as he pulled at his collar. 

Jim rolled his eyes as he grabbed one of the muffins off the tray.  He bit into it as he watched Bones pin his own medals on his chest.  Bones did not have as many as Jim, but he too had accumulated quite a sum these last few years. 

They were the poster boys and girls of Starfleet, returning home on their silver chariot.

    

XXXXXXXXX

 

As Jim stepped onto the bridge and heard Chekov’s cheerful chirp of ‘Keptin on the bridge,’ a smile broke out on Jim’s face.  He still remembered the first time he heard those words almost seven years ago. 

His bridge crew was older and wiser now.  Although after five years she was no longer as shiny, as new, or even the fastest ship in the fleet, Jim still loved her. 

“Time to destination.” 

“Twenty minutes, sir,” Sulu responded back.   “We’ll have visual soon.”

“Channels to station.”

“Open and ready whenever you need them, sir.  They have given us clearance to land,” Uhura responded.  She tapped the back of her ear piece and swirled back around to her station.  “Station’s all ready for us, sir.”

“Good.”  He slipped into his chair. 

As Sulu guided them past Jupiter’s moons, they caught their first glance of the station.  Years ago Jupiter Station had been used by Admiral Marcus to build the USS Vengeance.  Since Marcus’ death, the station had been converted to a Research and Development facility and a secondary starship repair facility while San Francisco Fleet Yards were still undergoing repairs.

They had left the solar system before the station had opened.  Jim had only heard fragmented reports of the station, but seeing it now, it was more than Jim had ever imagined.  It was almost a floating city in the sky. 

His sentiments seemed to be shared by the entire bridge crew.  He heard a collective sigh as Sulu glided them towards their final destination. 

_They were almost home..._

“Lieutenant Uhura please open up ship wide communications.”

“Yes, sir.”  Jim detected the slight quiver in her voice.  He tightened his fist.  “Com open, sir.”

Jim nodded.  He looked up at Spock and Bones, one behind each side of his shoulders.  It felt so right.   Their friendship really did transcend universes, space and time. 

Bones smiled fondly at him.   Even though Spock was not as easy to read, after spending over half a decade with him, Jim knew Spock felt similarly.

He looked up at the view screen once more as Sulu flew them towards their landing pad.  He took a deep breath before speaking. 

“Attention crew, this is your captain speaking.  We will be arriving at Jupiter Station and preparing for final docking momentarily.  However beforehand,” Jim stopped as he felt Bones’ hand tightened around his shoulder.  Bones grounded him like always, an anchor in the deep expanse.  He placed his own hand over Bones before continuing.  “A wise man once told me a captain is only as good as his crew, and there is no doubt this is the best crew of the fleet.   We’ve seen things, done things, and been to places most could only dream of.  Whether you have just joined for a month, a year or five years, it doesn’t matter.  We are a family, and always will be.  It has been a privilege serving with you all as your captain.  Kirk out.”     

He did not need the collective, almost simultaneous applause that exploded throughout the bridge or filtered through the coms from the rest of the ship, but it was nice and warmed Jim’s heart.

_His family…_

He creased his abdomen. 

A little bitter sweetly, Jim spoke.  “Engage external inertial dampeners, Mr. Sulu.”

“Aye sir.”  Moments later Sulu added,  “she’s all docked, sir.”  Even before Sulu finished the sentence, they all heard the collective silence as the engines died down.  It was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard on the bridge. 

The silence was broke by Uhura.  “Incoming transmission from Starfleet Headquarters.”

“Put it on the screen, Lieutenant.”

Admiral Barnett’s face flickered onto the screen.  He was sitting in his office.  “Captain Kirk.”

“Admiral.”

“I would like to be the first to say, welcome home.”

“Thank you sir.  It’s good to be back.”

“We’ve received your transmission packages and have cleared you and the crew for disembarkation.    You have gone over the disembarkation procedures.”

“Yes sir.” 

_Of course he had._

Spock had made sure of that.

“Good,” Barnett smiled.

“In that case, we look forward to seeing you at headquarters.”

Jim barely managed to respond before the transmission cut off. 

He knew what Barnett was implying.  He knew his schedule for the rest of the day, a press conference followed by a formal dinner.  Tomorrow the debriefings would begin, bright and early.  He was not looking forward to that.  He would have to account for every life that he lost, every mission that ended poorly.  

The tapes would be pulled, and history would be written.

“Captain,” Spock broke his train of thought.  Jim looked up.  He nodded.

At that, the bridge crew stood up.  He watched as they filed out.   Only Spock and Bones remain behind.  They and Scotty would be the last to disembark before Jim.  Per ancient tradition, Jim would leave the ship last. 

Well, theoretically that was the idea, however in his condition that had to be amended.  While most of his crew would be beamed off the Enterprise, Jim had to take one of the shuttles. 

The modified procedures involved Jim being the last to board and exit the shuttle craft. 

“Ready?”  Bones asked.

Jim nodded.  He stood and followed Bones and Spock to the turbo lift.  He stopped for one last look at the empty bridge, at his chair, at the black view screen and the now dim consoles.  It was eerily quiet. 

As Bones had said earlier, this was not ‘farewell’.  It was just a ‘see you later’.

She would be here waiting for him, warm and inviting like always.  He creased his abdomen fondly before stepping into the turbo lift and to his next big adventure.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adjusting to life on Earth isn't easy, but Jim and Bones find ways...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. Real life exploded and is continuing to explode.

Jim had only been back on Earth for three days, and he was already starting to hate it.

His bed felt too hard. The sun felt too bright. The admirals and public relations were giving him a constant, numbing headache. The debriefings left endless. Every day he was forced to sit through meetings where his every action, every decision were heavily scrutinized. He knew it was protocol. At least it was not as bad as after Nero. Because of his ‘death’ during the Khan incident, he had been spared most of the initial debriefings after that incident.

Then of course, there were the stares and the unwanted attention.

He could not walk through San Francisco without being stared at, without some random person wanting to touch his belly, without some stranger wanting to take a picture with him.

It seemed since the news ‘leaked’ over Federation subspace. He had gained an even more ‘legendary’ status. Fan clubs were being formed everywhere. He had been asked multiple times already by civilians on the streets to bless them with his ‘fertility’ powers.

Whatever the fuck that meant.

He had never seen Bones laugh so much than the first time it had happened.

He was sure Bones was going to pop a vein.

So really, this was the first afternoon in three days he had time for himself.

It had been a long time since he came to Golden Gate Park. He and Bones used to come here back when they were at the Academy when they wanted to escape and unwind from their studies, which was not easy or nearly as often as Jim would have liked considering all the xenobiology classes and shifts Bones had and all the extra classes Jim found himself taking to meet his three years deadline he had set for himself.

Still it felt strangely nostalgic to be walking through the age old paths of yesteryear. Golden Gate Park was one of the few places left in San Francisco with trees. It was a hidden arboreum in a concrete jungle.  
These were some of the best weeks in San Francisco. Jim knew the inevitable chill would happen soon, but for now it was nice.

A little hot, a little bright, but nice…

He made it to one of the many meadows tucked away in the park. It was mostly empty save for a few families. He smiled at the kids who were playing with their parents or pets. In a few more months that would be him… him and Bones with their kids.

Their kids…

He cradled his abdomen as he sat down against a tree, because damn it he was going to as opposed to the more suitable option of a bench.

He toed off his regulation boots and wiggled his toes under his heavy duty socks. He hated wearing them lately. His feet and ankles were starting to swell. There was a noticeable layer of fat on his face, something he couldn’t remember having since before puberty.

Once he felt reasonably comfortable, which lately he was taking as just not miserable. He was starting to think it was a miracle that the human race had not died out. He could not understand how women chose to put themselves through this. Of course he knew his pregnancy was not at all similar to female pregnancies. The glaring fact that he was male and that he was carrying four babies.

It was really a miracle in too many ways, which was why he and Bones were meeting with Phlox, one of Bones’ medical advisor and Archer’s CMO and the only other doctor who had witnessed a male human pregnancy before. He finally learned the story behind that one. At least this time the other father was human.

The babies was definitely human and one hundred percent his and Bones’.

He creased his abdomen again before pulling out his PADD.

It had been a long time since he did leisure reading. He did not have much time on the Enterprise for it. When he did have time for it he rather not read since he spent hours reading reports, contrary to popular belief he did read his reports.

He was deep into the story when a message appeared on the corner of his PADD.

Bones…

Jim smiled as he read the message.

_Can they get any more annoying?_

Bones frequently started his messages like this when he was feeling particularly annoyed. He would bypass the ‘hellos’. Jim did not blame him. He himself was known to do something similar.

“Well, hello to you too,” he typed back.

He could just imagine Bones’ eyebrow doing a particularly spectacular eyebrow raise.

“Admirals?” He continued.

_Yes and even Boyce too. God damn it, don’t they understand I’m a doctor not one of their poster boys? I’m busy._

Jim smiled. “You’re a very hot poster boy.”

_Jim…_

“Well you are. So what do they want?”

  
_They want me to present at the medical symposium this afternoon. One of their speakers canceled at the last moment. Lost his voice or something._

“That’s great, Bones.”

  
_It would be if doctors and researchers actually attended. It’s more of a media, PR trap now. Nobody takes it seriously. It’s going to be horrible._

A devious smile appeared on Jim’s face. He suddenly remembered a time, long ago, when he and Bones first started their ‘friends with benefits’ thing.

“I could make it better.”

_How the hell you going to do that?_

“Second year, fall,” Jim typed. He wondered if Bones would remember.

_…_

It seemed Bones did remember.

_Seriously Jim._

“I told you back then I would return the favor. I don’t like owing people.”

_Seriously Jim._

“I am.”

_..._

“I do like how you haven’t said ‘no’.”

_Can you even… never mind._

Jim knew he should be annoyed, but damn it, it had been weeks.

“You’re horrible Bones and yes and yes. Just to prove it, I will.” He tapped over to the Starfleet homepage. It was easy to find the medical symposium. It was being advertised all over the front page.

_Jim…_

“It’ll be awesome, 5 pm right.”

_Jim, no._

“Jim, yes.”

_No._

Jim rolled his eyes. He did not know why Bones still tried.

“Yes.”

_No._

“Yes.”

_No._

“Yes.”

_No._

“No.”

_Yes._

“Sweet.”

_Damn it Jim!_

“You know you love me. Come on, you know I’m like the king of blow jobs.”

_I am not going to dignify that with a response._

“Dinner afterwards?”

_Fine._

Jim smiled.

There were some things about being back on Earth that was good.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Bones gave him that ‘I can’t believe we’re/you’re doing this’ look when Jim arrived at.

Jim beamed at him before giving him a kiss on the lips. He smirked when he pulled back and noticed the stars in Bones’ eyes.

He still had it.

“Jim,” Bones started again.

He grabbed Bones’ PADD. “Neural grafting.” Bones had single handy pioneered the field of neural grafting. It was one of reasons he had been able to request Bones as his CMO all those years ago, and one of the billions of reasons why Jim was so proud of his best friend and lover.

So of course this was the topic Bones was going to present. He had heard the presentation a million times now and even now it never got old even though Jim did not understand everything that Bones said. Similarly to how Bones did not understand all the engineering and physics lingo.

God, just thinking about that made him miss his ship. He knew the Enterprise was starting her repairs and upgrades. He hated that he could not help with the repairs, at least not until he finished debriefing. Because damn it, he was not that big yet.

Sure he was not proud of the amount of effort that it took for him to stand up, but damn it, besides Scotty and maybe Keenser there was not anybody else that knew the inners of his ship better than he did. His only relief was that he knew Scotty was on his ship.

“Jim…” Bones started again.

Jim wagged his eyebrows, handed Bones his PADD then promptly disappeared through the double swinging doors.

Using his captaincy status and his ‘condition’, he managed to slip inside the conference room. He smiled when he saw the podium. Unlike the one from years ago, the one he presented at all those years ago, this was on much wider. That was just fine for Jim.

He smiled at the crew that was setting up the room. Some smiled back while most ignored him which was just fine with Jim.

They did not question him when Jim strolled up to the podium. Using his hands he measured the box and the space underneath the stand. His grin widened. Just as he had suspected. It was wider. He took a seat near the front and pretended to be busy. Once the crew had left and before they started letting in the audience Jim slipped onto the stage. With one hand he used the podium as support. With his hand, he cradled the bottom of his belly before dropping slowing to his knees. He then backed under the podium. It was not particularly comfortable but luckily Bones’ speech was not that long. Just as he drew close the drapes, he heard the doors open.

In what felt like the longest ten minutes of his life. Because fuck, maybe this was not the best idea, but damn it…

Followed by the longest introduction in the world…

_Shit…_

He knew Bones had accumulated many accolades over the years. He personally had recommended Bones for a large fraction of them, but seriously…

He almost at his wits end when he heard the familiar foot steps. He had learned to recognize Bones’ footsteps over the years. It was essential since Bones had a habit of just showing up on the bridge.

He parted the drapes that was hiding him from the backstage crew just a fraction , enough to see Bones’ regulation pants. He smiled as Bones cleared his throat. As Bones rustled his sheets, Jim took that moment to unzip his flap. He worked out Bones’ flaccid cock. It would not stay that way for long.

Not if Jim could help it.

Jim licked his lips. Still cradling his belly with one hand and with the other hand on the ground for support, Jim slipped his mouth over Bones’ cock. He smirked when Bones coughed. Jim was not easily fooled. He immediately recognized the groan that was hidden within the cough.

He definitely still had it.

He waited as Bones started his speech: explaining the history and methods of the original neural graft.

Jim moved his tongue, sliding it down his long shaft He smirked at the random high inflections in Bones’ intonation mixed with coughs as he continued talking about neurons and grafting along the vertebrates.

He wished he could see through walls at this point. He wondered if he was giving any of the admirals aneurysm.

And Jim…

Jim didn’t feel guilty about it.

Bones hated being paraded around by the admiralty. He kept claiming he was just a simple country doctor, not a posterboy.

He continued his movements.

Up and down…

He swallowed and sucked along Bones’ shaft, working around the veins, arteries and folds of skin.

Coating it with his saliva…

The heat…

The pulsation…

The tiny bit of liquid that dripped downwards…

The coughs that started to start more like strangled choking as he tried to hide his groan…

The slight swaying of his hips to Jim’s movements…

He could tell Bones was turning red…

That he was perspiring hard…

The frequent stops...

He could tell Bones was close.

Years of experience with Bones had taught Jim that. He knew exactly was he liked and wanted.

He rolled his tongue one more time.

At the roll, Bones jerked forward. The tip of his cock landed against the back of Jim’s mouth. It took all his willpower not to cough. His eyes burned as Bones sputtered into his mouth. The slightly bitter but mostly sweet liquid flowed into Jim’s mouth. He swallowed gently, sucking the tip of Bones’ cock.

He heard several loud coughs this time, and they didn’t all come from Bones…

He smiled…

_So worth it..._

Once he deemed Bones clean. He tucked him back in, made sure Bones’ flap was draw shut before sitting back down on his rear, and he waited...

He must have fallen asleep…

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He awoke to find Bones kneeling in front of him. Jim noted he had changed. They were a different pair of trousers.

“Hey Bones,” Jim grinned back.

“I think you have a new record.”

Jim tilted his head, confused.

“There were at least four admiralties and ten delegates that looked ready to faint. I don’t think I have ever seen Komack so angry either.”

“But…” Jim supplied.

“They aren’t going to investigate.” Bones sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Dinner?” Jim answered. He was definitely hungry. “Didn’t have anything to eat but some carbs, fat and protein,” Jim answered, remembering the words Bones had said to him all those years ago.

“Infant…”

“Hey!” Jim whined, pouting his cheeks.

Leonard sighed before stretching out his hand. “Come on. We can get Italian.”

“You know you liked it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know what to say about this chapter...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim starts teaching at the Academy...

Of course Jim knew the admiralty had no proof or evidence what had transpired during Bones’ talk, but that didn’t stop Jim from being paranoid. He attributed it to pregnancy hormones though.

The investigations finally ended two days later.

Jim and his crew all earned a few extra commendations.

There were even a few promotions.

Some he suspected, like Chekov’s being promoted to lieutenant. That was long time coming. Uhura and Sulu both to lieutenant commanders and Scotty to commander.

And of course the one he was most proud of awarding…

Not that he could pick favorites.

“Commander Leonard McCoy.”

Bones rolled his eyes.

This was the third time today, Jim had called him that. Not that Jim was counting.

He was sitting on the edge of Bones’ desk.

He and Bones had both been given offices.

Bones in Starfleet Medical and Jim at Headquarters…

Jim on a count of his condition and Bones because he sure as hell was not leaving Jim behind for any voluntary jaunts in space.

It was not as close as either men would have liked.

Jim knew Bones rather he be directly in his line of sight at all times. He had suspicions that he had given Rand instructions to watch him closely.

Jim couldn’t understand why.

His morning sickness was not as bad anymore, and his last examination showed him to be in perfect health. He doubted he had ever been this healthy before pre-pregnancy.

Right now, he was anxiously awaiting their meeting with Phlox. He hoped that would finally put Bones to ease.

“You deserve it.”

“I’m surprised you and Spock weren’t promoted.”

Jim shrugged his shoulders.

“Spock can’t because then he’ll be the same rank as me, and we both know Spock doesn’t want captaincy.”

“And you?”

“You know half the admirals think I was promoted to captain too fast. I doubt they want to do it twice.”

Bones blinked.

“Youngest commodore…”

“Besides that, can you imagine me running a fleet of starships? Or as a stuffy admiral?” Jim waved his hands. “Captain is the best Bones.”

A look on Bones’ face, one Jim was not sure he liked, appeared. He leaned forward.

His new center of weight toppled him forward. Bones caught him. The look was almost instantly replaced by one of concern. “Jim!”

He blushed red as Bones helped him back on the desk. He noted how Bones’ hand lingered on his extended abdomen.

They both knew they were approaching the day when they could feel the babies move. Jim was both excited and nervous about that moment.

He noticed the time on Bones’ chronometer, Twenty minutes until Advanced Tactical Training started.

He was teaching at the Academy. He had not taught since his own time at the Academy.

The original instructor had suddenly dropped the class. Barnett had given him the orders, but it reeked of Noyes’ doing.

Like everything else with the admiralty, it was always sink or swim. Constantly proving to the universe that he earned his stripes.

He had been preparing for this lesson since he received the assignment.

Advanced Tactical Training was important. It was a difficult class. He himself had taken it long ago, during his first year at the Academy. Christopher Pike had nominated him.

He has learned many important decision making skills in that class.

He knew these new cadets and even seasoned officers were counting on him like he had his instructor so long ago.

“Better get going?” Bones had followed his gaze. “You’ll do great.” He kissed his cheeks.

“Thanks.” Jim hopped off his desk. He straightened his shirt. “Don’t forgot our interview tonight.” He added before leaving Bones’ office.

He knew Bones was rolling his eyes.

They were being interviewed by San Francisco Five O’clock News. The admiralty had ‘recommended’ them.

Paranoia….

He was definitely just paranoid.

Pregnancy hormones.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He walked into Advanced Tactical Training with a minute to spare and was immediately bombarded with the nostalgia of it all.

Seventy-two wide eyed cadets and seasoned officers were already sitting down.

Seventy-two hand picked cadets and officers that someone at the Academy had deemed to be the best and brightest of the bunch..

He himself had been chosen for this high honor years ago.

He looked back to those days as captain of Team Delta fondly, but he equally remembered just how terrified he had been the first day he stepped into this classroom.

It was no secret how selective the class was.

He knew these cadets and officers were just as terrified.

At the Academy, he had many instructors. The ones that droned on for the one hour class, never once looking at the students. The ones that had their TAs teach the class. Then there were the hands on ones.

The ones that really seemed to care.

Just looking at these cadets and officers, he decided to throw out his entire first lesson.

He stepped onto the center of the floor. He picked up a piece of chalk. He had specifically asked for a room with chalk and a chalkboard.

He raised his hand to the board and realized just how small the gap between his belly and the chalk holder was.

He leant forward and with a great flourish, he wrote his name and the course name on the board.

He smiled before rotating on his heels.

A lot less fluid than he would have liked but considering the circumstances he could live with it.

“Well that was fun.”

He heard a masked laugh from the back room.

_Okay._

“I’m Jim Kirk and this is Advanced Tactics Training.” He motioned at the board. “And that will probably be the only thing you ever see me write on the board. For obvious reason,” he motioned at his belly.

The laugh was back.

_Okay…_

“You’re here probably because someone thought you were the best of the best.”

He saw a few of the students straighten in their seats.

“You’ve probably heard stories about this class. That it’s elite. That to be captain of a starship you have to take this class. That it’ll prepare you for anything.” He saw how he had captured their attention. “That this class will either make or break you. That if your team isn’t number one you’ll never be captain. That this class has the lowest pass rate.” He stopped for a moment to take a breath and for the dramatics of it all. He could tell they were all hanging on to his every word now. “You’re probably hoping I’ll end this by saying it’s a lie.”

He saw the subtle nods.

He parted his legs and placed this hand behind his back. He took a few steps forward before stopping.

“I wish I could. We all know the truth. There are only so many ships and so many captains for those ships. Nobody knows how they chose who makes it and who doesn’t. I’m not going to lie and say I do. I was lucky, fortunate. Some of you here probably resent me for it.” He noted the officer in the corner, the one that had laughed.

He looked to be older than Jim.

He looked like he had experience, maybe more years of experience than Jim did.

Jim could tell from his eyes and his demeanor that he did not believe he was qualified for this position or for his rank.

Jim knew because he saw it regularly. In the admirals when he was able to converse with them through the subspace frequency and even from rulers, ambassadors and dignitaries from planets he visited. Most commented on how young he looked.

“As a result, I’m not going to stand here for two hours every week lecturing you about proper tactics. It’s about experience, hands on training, and discussion. All things anyone in power needs. You need to be able to adapt. Listen to your subordinates, know when your commanding officer is wrong and when it’s important to speak up, and most of all… Accept your humility. Know when you are wrong and be humble about it.”

Jim looked at the room, all the wide eyes that were looking back at him.

“A wise man once told me to trust my crew, trust myself because out there that’s all you got. In deep space, Starfleet can’t save you. It’s only you and the men and women that follow you. This class will attempt to test you in all these areas. The simulations and drills that this class will put you through will help you hone in those skills. Use them to learn something.” Jim stopped, smiled before clapping his hands together.

“Now, instead of me standing here and lecturing out of a book that you can all read yourself.”

Jim easily anticipated the collective groans that followed.

As much as he loved reading, even Jim Kirk had a limit and his days at the Academy had almost killed that love. For three years, everything he read was textbooks, journals, papers, and later student works from classes he taught as a teaching assistant. The professors at the Academy were not shy about assigning homework.

“We’re going to spend the rest of the class in group discussion. So come on down.”

He saw seventy-two pairs of eyes widen as Jim lowered himself onto the ground. First on his knees, with one hand on his now expanding waistline before dropping to the ground. He crossed his legs before looking up.

Nobody had moved.

“What are you waiting for? If a pregnant man can do it, so can you.”

Immediately, seventy-two pairs of feet scrambled forward.

He was definitely glad he had requested this room.

“Now, let’s go around the circle for introductions…”

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

The bell sounded.

“Class dismissed. Please read chapters one to three by the next class, so we can discuss the scenarios laid out in the chapters. Be sure to bring in one unique solution for each scenario. Yes, that means I’ll be expecting seventy-two different solutions. We’ll go around the room and share next class.” Jim finished.

A symphony of collective groans followed.

At least he had broken the ice. He watched as they left the classroom along with the sounds of shuffling of feet and the grabbing of bags as they filed out of the room.

The trace of a half smile appeared on his lips as the last student walked out of the room. Only then did Jim turn to the other door.

Bones was leaning against the doorframe. There was a wide smile on his face. He clapped once then twice before stepping forward. Jim recognized the familiar eye brow raise.

“As good as that performance was, care to enlighten me how you were planning on getting off the floor?”

“I knew you would show up, Bonesy,” Jim answered easily as he took Bones’ offered hand.

Bones’ eyebrow rose even higher.

“Care to enlighten me?”

“Nope, trade secret,” Jim smirked. He grunted as Bones pulled him up. “I didn’t make youngest captain out of good looks only.”

Bones rolled his eyes.

“Hey! I saw that.”

“I know.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Gaila go bra shopping.

“Admiral Greenbay.” Jim looked up surprised. Greenbay had been promoted from Commodore to Admiral during the years that Jim was in deep space. She was in charge of the home front: the public relations, recruiting and such, as a result Jim had very little interactions with her up to this point. He started to push back from his seat to properly salute her.

“It’s okay, captain.” She quickly halted him. “Unlike the other admirals, I do understand the perils of pregnancy.”

Jim blinked.

“Don’t look at me like that Kirk. We aren’t all robots, or without a family. I’ve had two kids. I know the toils of pregnancy: the swollen ankles, the heartburn, the wobbling, the nonstop kicking and constant need to use the toilet to just name a few.”

Jim visibly paled.

Greenbay laughed heartedly.

“Looking from your expression, it seems you haven’t experienced any of those symptoms yet.”  
Jim shook his head. Besides his never expanding waistline and chest, he felt like he had to order new uniforms almost weekly now, and the never ending sickness, he felt mostly fine. He still can’t stomach much food all at once, so his drawers were stocked full of snacks. He really did not want to survive on plomeek soup for nine months, so this had become the alternate.

He pressed his hands together.

“No, however, I doubt that’s why you’re here.”

"You’re a smart man, Kirk.”

Jim shrugged.

“You are correct.” Greenbay took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to be the one to speak to you about this, but the rear admiral insisted.”

“Gates?”

Jim was surprised. Gates never had problems with him before. Jim knew for a fact that he had been one of the few who actually actively supported his promotion to captain.

“Yes. You know how he is…”

Greenbay waved her hand.

“Traditional, conservative, a relic of the past,” Jim listed off the descriptions. They were not purely his descriptions. Gates was a man from Archer’s generation. A few years after Archer, but still the same breed of men.

Greenbay laughed. “I guess some things never change. Yes, all of those, Gates claims since this matter is a part of my jurisdiction, I should be the one to speak to you about it.”

Jim nodded. He watched

Greenbay shift on the balls of her feet. She seemed uneasy about whatever it was. Jim could garner from her words she did not fully support whatever it was she was about to say to him.

“Do you want something to drink?” Jim asked.

“No.” She sank into the chair across from Jim’s. “It concerns the interviews.”

Jim blinked. He remembered the few Federation press conferences and the one with the evening news he and Bones had done. It had been a while since then as a result he had forgotten about it.

“What about them?”

“It’s… well…” Greenbay sighed.

“There has been some backlash.”  
Jim blinked again. He tried to keep a neutral look on his face. He knew this was to be expected. He had always known deep down this could happen.

“I’m sorry, Jim, but we have to insist you start wearing bras.”

“What?”

That was definitely, one hundred percent not what he had expected.

Greenbay sighed. She picked up a PADD and set it in front of Jim. A short, twenty second clip of the interview played before him.

They were talking about their mission. Bones was humoring the crowd by describing their encounter with the Horta.

It was always a popular story. For the scientists because silicon life forms were so rare. For the rest of the Federation, Jim had a suspicion it was mainly due to Bones’ punchline.

Bones did not believe him.

He never did.

That he basically as much loved and as much as poster as the rest of Jim’s senior command crew.

“I don’t understand.” Jim turned the PADD back around.

Greenbay pointed at the PADD.

She cleared her throat. “To use an archaic term, a nip slip.” She tapped the scene, and when Jim looked down. He nearly cringed.  
It seemed he had twisted oddly while was reaching for his water and the side of his uniform had slipped downwards revealing, a very dark and very swollen nipple.

“It’s all over the news, Kirk. We’ve managed to quell most of the flames, but… you’re going to have to start wearing bras. Sorry, Kirk. This is not something you want to fight. It’s centuries old.”

He was certain then it was not paranoia but pay back.

That they definitely knew…

“Would you like help? I could send one of my…”

“No, no,” Jim held up his hands. “I got this.”

“Good, I knew you could be amiable.” Greenbay smiled.

_Fuck._

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He might have accidentally agreed to wear a bra, and he knew what a bra was and how to unclip them on, but that did not mean Jim knew how to wear or where to buy one.

Weeks ago, Jim had never fathomed this would become his life. That he would ever need to go fucking bra shopping for himself.

He knew, even though this was partly Bones’ fault, he was not going to drag Bones bra shopping with him. He doubt Bones knew much about them either, which meant he would have to call upon a female for help. He had quickly crossed off Chapel, Rand and Uhura from his list. Even though he was close to all three of them, this… this was not something Jim wanted to ask them for help on.

In fact, it was not until he was dialing the number, that Jim realized this was the obvious choice. He could not believe how long it had taken for him to arrive at this conclusion. On the third ring, that all too familiar voice carried over the line. That familiar, succulent voice he had not heard in years.

“Gaila here.”

Of course Gaila was the only choice.  As his first officer would say, the logical choice.

Gaila was not bound by human standards. They had slept together many times at the Academy and who had seen him naked in that capacity. Gaila found monogamous relationships ridiculous.

“It’s Jim.”

“Jim!” She squealed over the communicator. “It’s been so long!”

It really had, almost four years.  Jim had ran into the ship she had been stationed at early on during the five year mission.  They had made peace and separated on better terms.  However space was big and subspace frequencies limited, thus Jim only knew that Gaila had been transferred planetside through the grapevine. 

“Are you busy?”

“Not for you, Jim.”

“I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

“What?”

Jim noted the slight suspicion in her voice. He could not blame her. Not after what he had done all those years ago.

“Nothing bad I promise.”

He heard Gaila chuckle from the other end.

“Sure Jimmy.”

“Could you meet me in front of the recreation hall in ten? I’ll explain there.”

“Sure,” Gaila chirped before disconnecting.

He made sure to tell Janice he would be gone for the rest of the day on orders from the admiral. She looked at him strangely but did not comment. The recreation hall was less crowded since classes were going on. He only exchanged a few pleasantries with a few students and officers before hearing his favorite Orion female’s voice.

“Jim!”

Jim smiled and waved as he watched Gaila bounce forward. She immediately wrapped him into a hug. For a second, it felt like all the years in between had never happened.

“God Jimmy, you so big!” Gaila’s eyes widened as she pulled away. Her hands stayed on either side of his abdomen.  She ran her hands revenantly over his abdomen.  Jim recognized the amazement in her eyes.  

“Are there really four little ones in there?”

Jim nodded, proudly.

The idea that four little humans with his and Bones’ DNA growing inside of him was no longer such a scary prospect.

“I always knew Dr. Bones was fertile, but this…” Gaila whistled.

“Gaila!” Jim flashed a shade of red.

“But seriously, I was so happy when Ny told me you and your doctor finally got together.”

Jim blinked.

_It hadn’t been that obvious, had it?_

“You and McCoy gave off so many pheromones when you two were together.” Gaila continued. “It was very pleasant. Just like Ny and Mr. Vulcan.”

Jim could not help but smile at that.

He wondered what Spock would say to that if he knew.

He wondered if the tips of Spock’s ears would turn green.

“Although I'm a little hurt you didn’t tell me yourself.” Gaila continued.

“I…”

“Yes, yes I know. You are a busy man. Captain of the flagship," Gaila nudged him playfully.

Although Jim knew that Gaila was joking, what she said was true. He should have been the first to tell her.

Besides the crew, everyone else had found out through the holonews.

"Don't be a stranger."  Gaila reprimanded.  She reminded Jim of one of his grade school teachers.  "You’re teaching right?”

Jim nodded. “Advanced Tactical Training.”

Gaila let out a low whistle. “Wow. So what did you need?” She beamed.

“I need help buying a bra.” Jim stated with as much of a straight of a face as he could muster.

Gaila blinked, once then twice before bursting out laughing.

“Jimmy, I know you to joke around but…”

“I'm serious.”

Gaila looked at him once then twice. Her hands inched upwards to his chest and poked his left breast. She let out a whistle.

“You’re actually serious. What did they do to you Jimmy? Are you a girl?” She covered her mouth. “Oh my god, is Captain Kirk…”

_Great…_

“Gaila!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

She definitely didn’t sound sorry.

“Of course I’ll help.” Jim noticed a glint in her eyes. “This will be fun.” He should have been worried at that point.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He definitely should have been when Gaila lead him out of the Academy and onto the streets of San Francisco.

He certainly was when Gaila pulled him into a very pink, very bright, and very gaudy store front.

Everything was lacy and tiny.

All attributes Jim loved…

Just not on himself...

“Gaila,” he started. He took a step backwards.

“Jim,” she pulled him forward deeper into the store.

Into the row and rows of lace panties and bras.

“Look Jim,” Gaila dragged him to a display stand. There was a holo mannequin with startling blue eyes with only a bra and a tiny g-string spinning around and around. “What about these?”

She picked up an almost transparent bra and a matching tiny thong with a little bow in the middle. “I’m sure Dr. Bones would love this.”

They left absolutely no room for imagination.

“What’s wrong Jimmy? I thought you liked this stuff.” There was a gleam in her eyes. Jim could tell she was messing with him.

However that one comment, it was true. Everything in this shop, Jim did love on women.

He loves peeling it off of females.

He had all his life.

But…

“Can I help you?”

Jim was about to say ‘no’ that he did not need help, that Gaila was enough; however, when he turned around to be greeted by a little old woman with the kindest smile he could not say ‘no’.

“Mademoiselle Dubois!” Gaila exclaimed.

“Gaila, my favorite customer, don’t tell me you need another bra,” Dubois chided.

Jim suddenly wondered how often Gaila went bra shopping.

“No, no… I’m here to help my friend.”

“Oh, tres bien!” She clapped her hands. “I do love new customers. What’s your style, Love?”

“Err.” Jim scratched the cheeks.  

“I…”

“Jim…” Gaila started.

Dubois blinked once before her smile widened. “Captain Kirk!  Gaila, you should have told me you were bringing in Captain Kirk.”

Jim blushed.

“I saw the news. I think they are just jealous. You have a fine set of girls which we’ll take right good care of.”

Jim just wanted to dig himself into a hole.

“Do not fear, Love. Once you have tried on Mademoiselle Dubois’ lingerie you will never go back. Gaila here knows.”

Gaila responded back with a large grin.

Dubois stepped forward, linked arms with him and dragged him forward with a strength far exceeding her size.

“First, let’s get you sized.”

He was pulled to the back of the store. There was already three other patrons in the back. They looked at him with curiosity as Dubois pushed him behind a changing curtain before following him inside. She drew the curtain shut behind them.

It was a small space.

Jim had never been claustrophobic before, but the three sided floor to ceiling mirrors were definitely intimidating. They left nothing to the imagination.

She drew out a long measuring tape from her pocket. “Arms out.”

He quickly complied.

She wrapped the tape measurer over his chest, above his chest and under his chest before moving to his hips.

She hummed once as she stored the measuring tape back. “A nice B cup. My eyes don’t deceive me, Captain.” She tapped one with her pen. Jim grimaced a little.

“Sore?”

“Yeah.”

“It was like that with my little ones. We can start you with a B, but you’ll probably be up to a D or E by the end. Them little ones will need lots of nutrition.” She tapped his belly. “The media don’t do you justice Captain. No matter, we’ll get you all sorted out. Gaila is a clever girl.”

Jim was not sure what to expect.

“Would you like to pick or should I provide you with suggestions? Anything you like or don’t want?”

“Err.”

At this point Jim kind of just wanted to dig himself into a big hole.

She smiled. “It’s okay even my female clients don’t know what they want. It’s why they come to me. You just wait right here.”

Jim nodded and watched as she disappeared. He was half minded to run away with Gaila’s head appeared. She had a big grin on her face. “Isn’t she this best, Jimmy?” She extended her hand forward. In her hand were two sets of bras and underwear, one in black and one in nude.

Jim looked at them. He had expected something lacy, tiny and well…

_Fuck._

Basically something he used to tear off his female acquaintances.

“I know. I know, not my usual taste but... Try these first, for regular days. Though… There are a couple items I'm sure you and Dr. Bones would enjoy.” There is a Cheshire Cat smile on her face.

Jim rolled his eyes, not dignifying that with any remarks.

Gaila laughed before ducking out.

He looked at the two choices.

Black or nude…

He stepped forward and touched the cup and immediately pulled back. It was padded. He was not sure he wanted a padded bra.

However…

 _Fuck_.

He was not going to let this get to him.

He grabbed the black one. The hanger fell to the ground. He had seen enough women put on a bra to know the idea of how it worked. He hooked the two straps over his shoulder blades. Then he grabbed the cups. He shifted them upwards over his breasts.

 _Fuck_ …

He really had breasts.

They were big, angry and a deep shade of brown around his nipples. The circles were massive.  
He did not want to think about the coming weeks and months.

The inevitable.

He knew it was inevitable when they started to grow.

He had sneaked tepid glances at Bones’ medical texts when he had not been looking. Jim understood what was to come.

Eventually he would start to produce milk.

And he would have to decide about breastfeeding. He was just glad he had not developed extra nipples. It seemed the N’irthans at least did not give him that genetic alteration.

"Jim?” Gaila poked her head back in. “You… You started. Need help?”

Jim was taken from his thoughts.

He realized then he did not have the dexterity to clip it. He was definitely a pro at unclipping bras, but this was different. His fingers did not seem to want to cooperate.

Gaila giggled. She stepped forward. “I’ll teach you a secret.”

She pulled off her shirt effortlessly. She was wearing a lacy red bra. It matched well with her fiery red hair. It reminded Jim of a different time. A time that was no longer possible, and one he did not really want to go back to.

She unclipped her bra, twisted the back to the front, clipped it together before twisting the whole thing back to its starting point.

“You can do it this way until you get to used to doing it from behind.”

_Until you get used to…_

He was not supposed to get used to it.

This was temporary.

Bones was going to find a way to change him back when…

When it all ended.

“Jim?”

Gaila was looking at him.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” He nodded his head quickly. He fumbled with the tiny clip. He guessed it had to do with his larger hands. However he did manage to clip it together and like Gaila showed him, he twisted the bra backwards.

It looked lopsided.

Jim bit his lips.

Gaila laughed. “Oh Jimmy, what are you going to do if you and Doctor Bones get four girls.”

_Four girls…_

_Girls…_

He had never thought about what the babies would be. Till this point, they had basically been just calling them...well… them.

Bones had mostly been worried about their and his health.

And Jim…

Well Jim had just been going with it.

But now…

The babies were not going to be ‘them’ or an unit for very long.

They would be individuals…

Boys and girls.

_Did he want boys or girls?_

_What did Bones want?_

“Jimmy?”

“Sorry.”

“Are you getting pregnancy brain? Ny used to say that was a thing.”

“No.”

“Then what was I saying?”

Jim faltered.

Gaila laughed. “I was saying…”

She stopped. “Can I?” She pointed at his breasts.

He was about to say “whatever” then stopped.

Because nobody but him or Bones to this point had touched them.

And…

Suddenly he felt a little self conscious, which was ridiculous since this was Gaila, and he never…

But here he was…

In a room with too many mirrors, a large belly…

_God…_

He swore it grew another centimeter from him just standing here.

“Never mind, I'll just show you. You got to straighten them like this,” Gaila explained.

Jim followed, and when he looked at the mirror.

He could not say he looked good, not like Gaila, or any other female.

He kind of looked like a male in drag with a big belly.

But he did feel better. He moved a little and for once his breasts did not feel heavy or bounce. They felt…

Well…

Supported...

“Now the panties.” Gaila smiled holding up the matching pair.

“Err.”

“Come on, Jimmy. Try it.”

He knew Gaila would not drop it.

“Could you?”

However he was definitely self conscious about his parts down below.

“Sure.”

Gaila handed him the panty before disappearing behind the curtain. She poked her head back in once, “call when you’re ready.”  
Jim nodded.

He pulled off his boxers. Then looked at the tiny black panty. It was not nearly as revealing as the almost transparent pair Gaila had shown him earlier. In fact it was basically tame compared to most of the pairs in this store.

_What the hell..._

He pulled it on. He looked at the mirror.

 _Maybe_ …

“Okay.”

Moments later Gaila reappeared this time with Dubois.  
Both women looked positively giddy.

Gaila clapped her hand.

“You look good, Jimmy.”

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

In the end, Jim left the store with two weeks worth of underwear, an arrangement of push up bras, sport bras, a few pairs of panties and something else…

Which Gaila insisted he get.

Her eyes twinkled knowingly as she wisely whispered into her ear…

“Trust me, Doctor Bones won’t be able to not screw you into the mattress anymore.”

_Fucking hell._

Gaila and her Orion genes…


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim finally has his appointment with Phlox...

When Jim had been at the Academy, he usually ran along the San Francisco Bay in the early hours of the morning.  The air was the sweetest and freshest in those moments before the sun peeked up over the horizon.

Since discovering his pregnancy, Bones had banned him from most strenuous activity.  

He was positive if he could, Bones wanted to tie him to their bed…

Actually that thought was not so bad if it was not for the fact that Bones still refused to touch him in any sexual way.

“Orgasms could cause preterm labor Jim.”

Bones finally compromised with swimming, only because the water gave Jim an additional support to offset the weight of his belly.  Jim was just grateful that he could exercise.  He needed to exercise to work off the additional stress.

It was not until after his first swim session that he realized how amazing the water was.  

With the water lapping over him, Jim felt light for once.  He actually felt normal.  Something he had not felt since the morning sickness, or more precise, all day sickness started.

However the downside was that swimming was an aquatic sport.  

Only in the early morning was Starfleet’s recreational pool mostly void of life.

He was still self-conscious of his constantly changing body.

He still did not believe Bones' assessment that he was the most beautiful human being ever.  He was starting to feel more and more like a beached whale when he was not  in the water.

Jim decided he did not  want to think about _that_ anymore as he lowered himself into the water from the side ladder.  Bones had banned him from diving off the springboards. 

From the side, he dove under the surface.  The crystal blue water surrounded him.  He stayed under for the maximum 15 meters of dolphin kicks before starting the front crawl.  

When he reached the end of the pool, he pushed off with the heels of his feet for the return journey.  He continued this exercise for another half hour, altering through the four main forms of swimming.

His butterfly was no longer as powerful, and he felt slightly self-conscious about his backstroke.   It reminded him just how big he was getting.

Most people did not know, but there had been a time long ago when he almost became a professional swimmer.  Before the hormones caught up to him and before Sam and his mother left him...

Jim shook those thoughts from his mind.  They were not important anymore.  That was the past, Jim thought as he pulled himself out of the pool.

He slipped into his slippers and wrapped his towel around his swollen abdomen.  

He nodded at a pair of Academy cadets as he headed to the locker room.  They smiled and waved back at him.  He recognized them as third year command cadets.

Just as he was about to push into the locker room, a voice called out.  "Ma'am!"  Were it not for the fact that the pool was empty save for him and the cadets, Jim would not have stopped.  He heard footsteps.  "Ma'am, that is the men's locker room."

The tips of Jim's ear turned bright red.  He was suddenly glad the cadets were out of earshot as he turned around.  He heard the all too familiar gasp. "Captain... Kirk, I'm so sorry," the young first year cadet managed to garble out.  His face turned bright red.

Jim smiled his million credit smile.  "It's okay," he waved his hand.  He left the cadet standing there before pushing into the locker room.  This was not the first time he has been mistaken for a female from behind.

He took a quick shower and was struggling to clip his bra together when his communicator beeped beneath a layer of towels.  He was still having trouble clipping his bras together.  He would just constantly wear sport bras: however, he was discovering that he liked the additional padding the push up variety gave him.  

He flipped open his comm with one hand, while with the other he continued to struggle to clip the ends of the bra together.  He did not even bother to check who it was from.

"Kirk here."

"Jim?"  Bones' voice filtered through the comm.  He seemed mildly panicky.  

_Fuck..._

He knew he had forgotten something this morning.  "I'll be there shortly, Bones.  Sorry."  Jim garbled out.

"Okay, Jim," Bone said warily.

The call ended at that moment.  Jim set his communicator down then proceeded to finish clipping his bra together.  Once it was secure, he pulled on his slacks.  

As he reached for his shirt, he caught a glance of his figure in the mirror.  

_Damn..._

From the side and back he really did look feminine.  He was starting to look less and less like a man.

He pulled the shirt over  his head, tossed his swim wear into his bag with his towels before picking up his communicator.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

He arrived at Starfleet Medical twenty minutes later.  The nurse on duty waved him through.  When he reached Bones' office, he heard an unfamiliar voice speaking.  Jim furrowed his brow as he pushes the door open.

There in the room was Bones with elder... Denobulan.

Jim had not seen a Denobulan in years.  

"Jim!"  Bones uncrossed his arms and stood upright from the edge of his desk that he was leaning against.  The last time Jim had seen Bones in that position, they had ended up christening his desk in the Jim Kirk fashion; however, Jim knew he was not going to be that lucky this time.  

It was driving him insane.  

“Jim, finally.  This is Phlox.”  Bones motioned to the elder man.

Phlox, well, Phlox’s face seemed to have broken out into a wide grin as Jim turned.  He reminded Jim of a kid in a candy store.

“No worries, I completely understand.”  Phlox smiled.  “Shall we get started?”

Jim nodded.  He followed him to an examination room.  There was already a gown and a plate of instruments nearby.

Jim quickly looked away.

He knew Phlox was a hands on doctor, but some of those instruments.

“A gown, and please place all your clothes into the bin.  I’m sure you know the drill.”

Jim nodded.  He waited as Phlox exited the room.  He thought Bones would follow; however, it was then he realized as Bones sat down on the chair next to the biobed.

Bones was not his doctor this time.

He was the other parent.

And…

Somehow that made Jim’s heart swell.

He changed quickly and was sitting on the examination table when Phlox returned.  He was carrying a clipboard.

“Wonderful.  Let’s start with the basics.”

Jim had enough of these appointments to know what the basics meant.

Blood pulse…

Height…

Weight…

Phlox makes a tut tut sound as his weight number appeared.  Jim definitely did not look at _that_.

Phlox tapped the clipboard.  “Already into the second trimester, you should be gaining at least a kilo a week.  You’re barely making half.  I’m sure Dr. McCoy has explained how most quads aren’t carried to term.  We need them to grow as much as possible now.”  

Jim nodded.

He did know _that._

It was just he really could not stomach much of anything.  

“Don’t want to starve any of them now do we?”

He heard Bones curse.  He felt his arms draw around him.  

The screams…

The blood...

“Jim!  Jim!”

“Captain?”

“Come on, darlin’, breathe.”

Bones’ arms tightened around him.  

Bones’ weight…

He brought him back.

It was only after Bones was wiping his cheeks that he realized he had been crying.  That it was he who had been screaming.

Phlox was not there anymore. In fact he was in their bedroom.  He was on their bed.

He looked at Bones, confused.

“You had an attack.”

It was what they called it.  

Phlox had said Jim’s trigger word.  He remembered.  He creased his belly.  He was not gaining enough weight.

Phlox said he was…

“I want it.”

Bones’ eyebrow raised upwards.

“Jim?”

“I want the tube… the feeding tube.”  His voice quibbled at the word. There was a scar on his side, barely noticeable now, when he got one inserted years ago.  After Tarsus, when he could not eat even though he had been so hungry for so long.

“Jim?”

“You heard Phlox.  I ain’t gaining enough, and the sickness ain’t going away.”

“Damn it Jim.”  Bones sat down in front of him.  He placed two hands on each side of his face before bringing their foreheads close together.  “James Tiberius Kirk, you answer and you answer me truthfully.”

Jim nodded.

“You trust me?”

“Of course.”  That was easy; he trusted Bones with every fiber of his being.  

“You trust my medical knowledge.”

“Of course.”

“You think I would keep something as important as you and our children’s health from you?”

“Bones.”

“Jim.”

“No.”

“Phlox is right.  Your weight gain is low.”

Jim’s face fell.

“But… Hell plenty of women don’t make the necessary weight gain at the beginning.  You and the babies are completely healthy.  They are making every milestone.”

“Bones.”

“And the weight will come.  Okay?”

Jim nodded. He blinked his eyes.

“Okay Bones.”

They stayed like that for a while.  Jim nearly dozed off when he remembered.  “Phlox.”

“I explained it to him.  He’ll be around a little while longer if you want to see him.”

Jim bit his lip.  “Yeah, I want to.”

“Okay darlin’.”

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

“Remarkable.  Simply remarkable.”

Jim took his eyes off the screen.  Even after so many weeks seeing the babies on the screen still took his breath.  He could not believe these tiny humans with a mix of his and Bones’ DNA were growing inside of him.

Phlox’s eyes were dancing.  “These …”

“N’irthians,” Jim supplied.  The last he heard; the Federation had sent a diplomatic ship to talk with S’ara’s people.  He wondered how she and her people were.  Jim hoped they were doing well.

“N’irthians,” Phlox tried out the word, “have simply remarkable gene therapy.  Your body has been modified perfectly to accommodate the pregnancy.  Even now it’s still changing…”  He zoomed in.  “See.”

“Unbelievable,” Bones muttered.  “How did I?”

“It wasn’t in the captain’s last ultrasound. Starfleet Medical has been most interested in this, Captain.  All the marvels this could bring.”  Phlox’s eyes sparkled.  

It suddenly made Jim uneasy.

“It’s like the captain’s body is constantly being re-engineered to insure the best outcome.”

“What do you mean?”  He hated being out of the loop.

It seemed Bones knew.

“Most multiple pregnancies end early because of lack of space.  Basically, one uterus can only accommodate so much growth.  It’s why most multiples are born smaller and earlier than a singleton pregnancy,” Bones explained.

“Right.”  Jim did understand that.

“However it seems the N’irthians have done something so each of your babies has its own uterus or will soon.”

Jim’s eyes widened.  “See here, this wall is already pulling apart.  And here,” Phlox moved the wand upwards, “it has almost completed.  Simply remarkable.  I would love to meet a N’irthian. What they have done is extraordinary.”

Phlox removed the ward and handed Jim a napkin.

Jim cleaned off his belly as Phlox reached for his tools.  Jim recognized them.  

He was not a fan of this part even when Bones did it.  He took Bones’ hand as Phlox inserted the tools into this vagina.  

He looked up at the ceiling, counting down the seconds.  He felt a pinch and then finally, finally the instruments were extracted.

Jim was grateful Phlox used a tricorder for his breasts instead of the hands on approach.  His breasts were so sore he did not even want Bones to touch them.

“Remarkable, your milk ducts are growing quite nicely if you choose to breastfeed.”

_Breast feeding..._

He had not even considered _that._

Of course there were tons of things he had not thought about.

“Of course nobody will fault you if you do not.  It won’t be easy with four babies.  Even for us Denobulans.“

Jim blinked.

He knew a little about Denobulan families from what he had learned at the Academy.  He had never visited Denobula.  However he knew they were polygamists.  

“My own wives used to say it was an experience they will never forget.”

His eyes did look a little wet as he turned away.  

“But then again, you’re already growing four uteri, maybe you’ll grow two more nipples too.”

Jim’s eyes widened.  

_That was definitely a joke, right?_

Whether or not it was, Phlox was already standing up.  

“Well,” he smiled.  “That concludes everything I need.  How about you get dressed, and then we can discuss?”

Jim nodded.  Bones squeezed his hand.

A while later, they were back in Bones’ office.

“It seems Captain Kirk is a perfect bill of health.  In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen a multiple pregnancy progress this smoothly before.”  Phlox said easily.  

Exactly what Bones had said.

“We still got a long way off, but have you two discussed delivery yet?”

_Delivery…_

Bones squeezed his hand.

“Since you do have a functioning vagina, you could always try natural birth.  I’m not sure how the labor with turn out with four uteri.  Of course there is always cesarian.”

Phlox stopped.

“Of course whatever course you go.  Starfleet Medical can accommodate it.”

There was that spark again.

Jim was not sure he liked it.

“We’ll discuss it.”

“Of course.” Phlox tapped the PADD.   “In fact with your morphology, we could almost treat this as four separate singleton babies.  Anyways, any other questions?”

“Does that mean we can have sex,” the words rolled from Jim’s lips before he could stop himself.  He saw Bones immediately flush red.  He hoped that did not kill all chances despite what Phlox would say next.

The Denobulan just laughed that full belly laugh that was common among Denobulans.  “I see no problem with that as long you two don’t engage in any extreme acts.”

Bones coughed.  He looked even redder.

“And no deep penetration,” Phlox continued as if he had not heard.  “I know some couples find it a thing.  I’ve heard some Earth women find it … alluring.” Phlox said it in such a deadpan voice.  Bones buried his face into his hands.  “They say the increase blood flow makes it more… intense.”

“Thank you, Phlox,” Jim immediately cut in.  He feared if Phlox continued Bones would never touch him again, ever.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Bones finally gave up the inevitable fight over the weekend.  Jim was surprised he lasted that long.  

And maybe when Jim laid himself on their king size bed, with chocolate drizzled all over his body, from his hard nipples down to his newly shaven vagina and a nice ripe cherry over his protruding belly button, he knew he had already won.

Bones had a horrible sweet tooth.

However as Bones licked away the chocolate, Jim decided even though it had been a pain to set up, he was definitely, definitely going to do this again.  He just hoped he would not need two bricks of chocolate the next time around.  


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Halloween...

Jim blamed it on pregnancy brain when Gaila was waiting for him after class on Monday.

There was a smile on her smile, one that Jim knew meant trouble.  At least she had the decency and consideration to wait until all his students had disappeared from ear shot.

“So it worked?”

“Hello Gaila.”

“Aww, Jimmy is embarrassed.”  She bent down and placed her ear and lips against his abdomen.  She placed her hands on either side  

“Your daddy Jim is embarrassed that he had happy times with your daddy Doctor Bones.”  Gaila cooed

“Gaila.”

“Your daddy Jim is so cute when he’s embarrassed.”

“Gaila if you don’t stand up I won’t talk to you again.”

They were definitely creating a scene.

“Party pooper,” Gaila blew a raspberry.  Before she standing up, she did kiss his belly,

She roped her arms around Jim’s.  She did not say anything else until Jim lead them out of the building and away from humanity.

“So how was it?”  She batted her eyes.

“We are not discussing this.”

“Why not?”  She smirked.  “We used to trade stories all the time.”

“Because…” Jim sputtered.

“Besides you and Doctor Bones are the worst kept secret ever!  Come on, Jimmy.  Did he like the lace at the least?”

Of course Bones liked the lace.

Not that Jim was going to say _that_.

After the chocolate, Jim had broken out the lace panties.  They spent the rest of the weekend in bed, only getting out to order delivery from their favorite Chinese restaurant and to change the sheets.

They had not done _that_ even during those days that had lead up to all of this.

It seemed Bones had a lot of bottled up sexual tension too.

Of course doing it with a greater distance between them had been different, and they had to adjust for _that._

And that was something that Jim was good at.

It involved a lot of doggy style, side action, and a bit of role reversal.

Instead Jim just smirked.

Gaila let out a squeal.  She tightened her grip around Jim’s arm.  

“This is going to be awesome.”

“What?”

“Costume shopping.”

Jim stopped walking.

“What?”

“Halloween Jimmy.  Have you been away that long?”

Jim had in fact forgotten about the annual Starfleet Halloween costume party,  it was one of the few times that the cadets and officers mingled in a social setting.  

Back at the Academy, Jim had gone all out on his Halloween costumes.  He had an ambition of beating the engineering cadets who always seemed to win the best costume award.  Jim was sure it was a conspiracy of some sort and was determined to force them to break it.

Of course he had roped Bones into his plans.  The first two years Bones would grouse and grumble that he was a doctor damnit not whatever the fuck Jim was having him dress up as.

“Judging from your reaction you probably forgot about it.”  Gaila stated.  “So we’re going to get a store-made one.”

The excitement in Gaila’s voice made it so that Jim could not say no.

_Damn it.._

“Ny’s going to meet us later.”

_Great._

“I got some ideas.”

Gaila took him into San Francisco.

She pulled him into a large warehouse like building that was painted orange and black with the big blocky letters spelling the words “Halloween Store”.  There was pumpkin and witch painted underneath the words.

Jim did not even know this existed.

Inside were rows and rows of costumes and accessories.  There were kids and adults of all species shopping inside.

“Come on.”

Gaila dragged him inside.

“Got any ideas of what you want to be?”

“Not really.”

Gaila giggled as they walked deeper inside.

“How about a pregnant cheerleader?”  Gaila pointed at a holo ad of blonde girl wearing a tiny mini skirt and a tank top.  She was doing an impressive split in mid air.  Her shirt was riding up to reveal the fake silicon belly.  She was waving a pair of pom poms.

Jim had never seen anything more fake.

“Or a pregnant nun?”

Jim was not religious but that just sounded like trouble.

“You should totally do something to incorporate the pregnancy thing, Jimmy.”

“Maybe.”

A few rows down, Gaila let out a massive squeal that definitely would have attracted unwanted attention were it not for the Halloween sound effects blasting from the intercoms. She drew out a black and white jumpsuit.

“Aww this is cute.”

Jim blinked as Gaila turned it around.  The white that Jim had seen was a skeleton printed onto the black background.  There was a bulge with a small skeleton of a baby drawn over it.

“Course you’ll need some modifications.”  Gaila giggled as she reached forward and patted his abdomen.

“And look, one for Doctor Bones too.”  Gaila pulled out another one.  “You guys can be a matching skeleton family.”

“How about not.”  Jim gently took the costume away and hung it back up.  “Why don’t we find your costume first?”

“No fair.”  Gaila pouted before a smile appeared on her face.  “Ny!”  She shouted and waved.

Jim turned.  He had never been more happy to see Uhura until that moment.  He was a little surprised that she was not alone.  

The duo walked forward.  “Spock.  Uhura.”

“Captain.”

“Jim.”

Jim decided not to correct him.

Gaila stepped around him then immediately latched onto Uhura’s arm, leaving Spock and Jim to follow.  

“I never pegged you as someone who celebrates Halloween, Spock.”

“I do not.  It is highly illogical to devote a day to ghosts.”

Jim laughed.  “But you’re doing it ‘cause of Uhura.”

“Negative captain.  Lieutenant Uhura believes since we are back on Earth I should take the opportunity to embrace my human heritage.”

Jim laughed.  “Right Spock.”

Spock raised an eyebrow.  

Jim patted his arm.  “Let’s find you a costume, Spock.”

He could not deny that finding Spock a costume was not the best part of the afternoon.  He wished Bones was here too.  He just knew Bones would have found it equally amusing.  Unfortunately Bones was stuck in surgery.  

He did take a few pictures with his PADD.

Jim had to say Spock made a pretty convincing vampire.  

They all giggled like school children when Jim tricked him into an elf costume.

“I do not understand what is so funny,” Spock said as Jim handed him the staff.  It only caused another round of laughter.

When they left, Jim was exhausted, and his feet hurt, but he could not deny he did not have a good time.  It felt nice to spend time with his friends, something he rarely had the luxury of doing during their mission.

It also helped that he had managed to find a costume for himself, Bones and a little something else.  Something Gaila convinced him was a good idea.  

It was also not for the party...

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

On Halloween, Jim set out their costumes on the bed while Bones was in the shower.

He took one looked at them and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”  Jim asked.

“Just surprised.”

“Surprised?”

Bones stepped forward and touched the animatronic parrot.  It let out a loud squawk.  Bones dropped it.  “Okay I should have expected that.”

“What you talking about?” Jim crossed his arms.  He suddenly felt defensive.

“Just at the Academy, we used to go as well... more elaborate things… things that glowed, light up, or scared the admiral’s kids.  This just seems too... normal.”

Jim laughed.  “Fair enough.”  Jim picked up the hat.  “Will you be my first mate?”

“Course.”  Bones drew him close.  As Jim placed the hat on Bones’ head, Bones sealed his agreement with a kiss.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

A few hours into the party, after mingling with his crew and exchanging the necessary pleasantries with the brass, Jim was ready to leave.

His feet were starting to hurt.

It was becoming a regular occurrence.  His belly was getting heavy too.  

His costume was starting to get itchy.  

Besides he still had a surprise for Bones that he did not want to be too tired to enact.  He feigned a yawn.

“Ready to go?”  Bones muttered into his ear.

“Yeah.”

They left through the side door.  Jim stopped them by the balcony.  He pulled off his boots.  Bones raised an eyebrow but did not say anything else.

They took the path through the line of trees.

It was part of Starfleet’s green initiative.  He knew Sulu loved it.  

Jim never knew a man who loved his plants as much as Sulu.  He was surprised Sulu had not pursued his botanist major although he was a damn fine pilot.  It had made Jim a little jealous that he did not have the best scores on the flight simulators during his time at the Academy.  He used to bemoan to Bones that some guy with the initials ‘HIS’ always beat him.  Jim later found out that guy was Sulu.

He smiled as Bones laced their friends together.  The robotic parrot let out an indignant squawk.

“I could drink to that.”

“Lucky.”

“Sorry.”

Jim rolled his eyes as he rubbed his swollen belly.

“Worth it.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

Jim yawned again.  This time for real, he really was tired.  He cuddled against Bones’ broad chest and let Bones guide them back to their apartment.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

When they made it back and Bones started to pull off his costume, Jim got his second wind.  

“Want to shower first?”

“Give me a second.”

Jim did not wait for Bones to ask any questions.  He went straight to their bedroom and into their shared closet.  He dug out the bags he had hidden behind some boxes.  Bones raised his eyebrows as Jim disappeared into the bathroom.

Once he was out of his costume; he pulled out the items from the bag.  

He had been apprehensive about it.

He was not sure if Bones would like it.

 _“He had a wife Jimmy.  Besides I know men.  You got the goods, Jimmy._ ”

Jim looked into the mirror.

Gaila was right about that part.

His breasts had grown.  

He would need to get another set of bras soon.

Sadly his cock was becoming almost nonexistent.

He was sure it had crawled upwards a few more millimeters.  

He shook his head.

No, such things were not what made him a man.

It was not all about the physical things.

But that did not mean he could not have fun, and this was not the first time he had worn women’s clothing anyways.

He torn open the package.  A little white mini skirt with red borders along the side and down the front and back and a matching top tumbled out.  The sides had large cut outs.  There was a deep cut collar.

There was also a pair of red garters and to complete the look a white hat with a little red cross.  

In the other bag were a pair of red boots and a replicated stethoscope.

He popped his head out when he was half dressed.  He found Bones in bed reading.

Jim smirked.  He placed the hat on his head and grabbed the stethoscope.

“Doctor, Doctor gimme the news; I got a bad case of lovin’ you,” Jim crooned as he slipped out of the bedroom.  

“J… Jim.”

He had never seen Bones look so flustered.  Jim winked.  “You going to fix me, Doctor?”

He crawled onto the bed.  A smile on his face as Bones set his book down.

He was pretty sure he had never seen Bones like this before.

“Fuck Jim.”

“That’s the idea,” Jim muttered.  He smiled as he draped the stethoscope over Bones’ neck.  He could hear Bones’ heart pounding away.

“You like it?”  Jim asked.  He smiled as he ran his fingers over Bones chest.  He smirked as he ran his thigh against Bones’ manhood.

“God yes,” Bones muttered pulling him forward.

The costume did not even last five minutes.

He definitely owed Gaila.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Bones have some fun...

“Captain!  What are you doing here?”

Jim recognized that glare from a kilometer away.  It was the same look Scotty had given him for months after the warp core incident.  The suspicious, guarded, half stare like Jim was going to do something _like_ that again.

Jim rolled his eyes.  “Landing clearance, Mr. Scott.”  

“I don’t have to grant it, sir.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“You is putting me into a hard place, sir.”

_Dr. McCoy is a scary man._

He could see those words imprinted on Scotty’s face.

“You’ll just leave me here, Scotty?”

He heard Scotty grumble.

“What was that Mr. Scott?”

“Clearance granted, captain.”

“Thank you Scotty.” Jim grinned and set the shuttle down.  There was only one other shuttle present, so of course there was nothing Scotty could cite to prohibit Jim from docking.

He unclipped his harness and climbed out of the shuttle.  The shuttle he had to bribe some kid for.  

He was pretty sure Bones was behind _that_ as well.

However, damn it he was going stir crazy.

As busy as his days were spread between meetings, teaching, appointments with Bones and not throwing up, it still was not the black.  It was still not on a star ship.

Even at the Academy, he had worked on the fleet ships in his limited spare time. He liked engineering.  He would have picked that track if he had not promised Pike he would get his own ship someday.

Not that he could not get it through engineering.  It was just an easier path through command.

And this was _his_ silver lady, damn it. Even though her next mission was not scheduled yet, and they had not officially named him her captain, they also had not named a new captain to replace him.  Protocol usually meant the captain stayed with his ship until he was promoted to commodore.  Unless of course he requested a transfer which he was not going to do.

So for all purposes, she was still his.

Scotty met him on the side of the shuttle doors.  There was a frown on his face.  He crossed his arms.

“Captain.”  He looked tormented.

He wondered what Bones had scared him with.

Then again…

Bones was pretty damn scary when he was wielding a hypo spray.

“Mr. Scott, just coming to see how the repairs are coming along,” Jim flashed his million credit smile.

“Just fine, Captain.  We’re starting to pull out the conduits to overhaul the wiring.”  Scotty still did not move.

“That extensive?”

“Aye, they want to upgrade the complete system.”

“Awesome, let’s see,” Jim clapped his hand on Scotty’s shoulder before step siding around him.  He briskly made his way out of the shuttle bay.  He heard Scotty quickly following behind.

He did wait for Scotty in the corridors though.

He did feel a little bad about _this_ , but Jim had seen Bones’ schedule for the day.  There was no way he would notice he was gone.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

“Hey darlin’,” Bones purred into his ear.  Jim literally jumped out his skin.

“Fuck.”

Bones snaked his arms around him and rested his hands against his swollen abdomen.   

“How was your day?”  Bones asked.  He brushed a kiss against his earlobe sending Jim into a dizzy spiral of being hot and bothered.

“Uneventful,” Jim choked out as Bones snaked his hand into his pants.  He gasped as Bones slipped his fingers inside of him.  He could already feel himself getting wet.

He felt like a damn teenager again. 

“Oh?”

Bones raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Jim moaned as Bones stroked him.  

“Not what Scotty said.”

Jim stilled.

“Said you went up to the Enterprise.”

“Just to look,” Jim whined as Bones stopped.

“Right.”

“Wanted to see how she was coming along.”

“Uh huh,” Bones muttered walking them towards the bed.  He settled Jim against the bed before peeling off his pants.

“Is that right?”

“Definitely.”

Jim could tell Bones did not believe him, but he was too hot and bothered to put up much of an argument.

He gasped as Bones kissed the underside of his thighs.  His tongue worked its way to his flaps of skin.

“You want this, darlin’?”  The vibrations tickled his senses sending Jim to all sorts of places.

“Yes please,” Jim moaned.  

He need to come.  He wanted to come.

He needed Bones inside of him.

“Please.”  Jim reached for him.

He felt Bones’ warm plush lips against his.

His scent…

His warmth…

Everything he had been missing for all those years.  

“Let me see those pretty blue eyes, darlin’.”

His eyes snapped open as he felt Bones burrow into him.  He rolled his hips and worked into that rhythm.

Of two bodies as one…

Of two souls as one…

They came like a torrential waterfall, roaring and raging over the precipitous.  Like shooting stars falling from the sky.  

Bones landed heavily beside him.  Jim shifted over.  His belly was getting too heavy and large.  It felt like he was growing and changing everyday now.  He swore he looked bigger when he went to sleep than when he woke up everyday.  

He knew these weeks were the most critical since pregnancies of his magnitude resulted in early birth.  The babies needed to grow as much as possible now.

Steroids, medication and bed rest…

Jim knew they were all looming in his future.

But for now...

He snuggled against Bones’ side as Bones drew circles into his hair.

“I ain’t mad, Jim.”

Jim looked up at Bones.

“Just worried.  Don’t want you to over do it.”

“I know, Scotty makes sure of _that.”_

Bones hummed.

A confirmation on Jim’s part, as for whether Bones had threatened Scotty, or Scotty was just terrified of Bones.  That Jim did not know.

“Besides you just went to look, right?”

“Yep,” Jim grinned.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

“Fuck!”  Jim cursed, dropping the screwdriver he was wielding.  He did not even have to turn around to know who it was.  “What the hell Bones?”

He cursed when Bones stabbed another hypo into his neck.

He was pretty certain Bones got a kick out of _that._

“You said you were just going for a look.  Now I find you in the fucking Jefferies Tube covered in oil.”

“It’s just a simple wiring project.”  Jim stated easily.  He could not believe his own engineering crew had ratted him out.

“Jim…” Bones said warily.

“Phlox said I’m perfectly fine.”

“Your sugar is low.  Damn it Jim.  When was the last time you ate anything?”

_Fuck…_

He knew he forgot to do something.

“You were minutes away from passing out.”

“Bones…”

Instead of responding, Bones placed a sandwich into his mouth.  He glared at him momentarily before taking a bite.  It was not until he had finished eating that he realized how hungry he was.

“Happy?”

“Not really, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Jim rolled his eyes.

_It was just a simple wiring project._

He had done more complicated work before.

“You come all this way to bring me a sandwich?”  Jim smirked.

“Course not, the brass wanted me to review the upgrades Scotty is going to be doing to the sick bays.”

Jim grinned.

“What?”

“How cute.  You’re protective of your sick bays.”

“We aren’t all overly attached to this buckle of…”

“Shh,” Jim pressed a finger to Bones’ lips causing Bones to glare at him.  “Don’t hurt her feelings, Bonesy.”

“You and Scotty.  Don’t do anything drastic.  I'll be in med bay.”  Bones pressed a rough kiss to his lips before turning around.  Jim waited until Bones had disappeared before returning to his work.

He was almost done anyways.

He could go bug Bones in sick bay.

Except that might cause Bones to want to try some of the new equipment on him.  He had gone to sick bay and seen some of the new equipment Starfleet had issued earlier.

They were fancy, shiny new toys that Jim just knew could keep Bones occupied for days or even days.

Or…

Now that Bones was on the Enterprise and…

Jim grinned as he picked up his screwdriver.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Jim made it to the bridge and sank into his chair.  

It felt like coming home…

He had not realized how much he missed it until he had left it.

He ran his hands over the armrest and crossed his legs.  Although the viewscreen were now black and the only view outside the windows was of the space dock and the consoles were all powered off, this was still home.  He placed his hand over his abdomen.

“This is home.  Where your papa and I made our home.”

“We had so many adventures and close calls.   It was how you guys were made.  Our little miracles…”

He ran his hand over the armrest.  

A smile appeared on his face.

He pulled up his communicator and turned the dial.

“Kirk to McCoy.”

“Jim?”  He heard Bones’ confusion.

“Could you come up to the bridge?”

“What for?”

“You’ll see.”  He did not wait for Bones’ response because he knew Bones would come.

Jim smiled as he folded up his communicator.  A glint in his eyes as he lowered it under his chin.  

He heard the turbolift door slide open and Bones’ footsteps as he stepped out.  The all too familiar sound of Bones entering the bridge, something Jim had grown accustomed to hearing over the years.

"Jim?"

"In here," Jim called.  He did not turn around though.

He detected the slight frustration in Bones' voice.  He hoped he could still convince him.

_No, this was ridiculous._

_Of course he could._

He was Jim Kirk.  He did not believe in no win situations.

As Bones stepped forward, he heard him grumbling that he was stuck with an infant.  Somehow that made Jim’s heart flutter a little faster.

Bones was spouting that all too familiar scowl.  

"This better be important."

"Bonesy," Jim chirped.  

He saw the slight twitch in Bones' upper lip. "Jim."

Jim smile widened.  He raised a finger and beckoned him forward.  

"Jim Kirk, if you think that's going to work..."

Jim rolled his eyes.  He swiveled around in his chair and crossed his legs.  He saw Bones' eyes widen.   

Since Halloween night,  Jim had learned some interesting things about Bones' kinks, and he was determined to use them to his tactical advantage.

As a result, he had borrowed the alternate male uniform before coming to the bridge, complete with the boots and a form fitting miniskirt.  He saw Bones' next words die on his lips.

Jim smirked.  "Did you know there is this old tradition of 'christening' the chair?"

"Jim, I think you're seven years too late."

All Jim heard was it was not a ‘no’.

He smiled.  He raised his leg and tapped Bones’s chest with it.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

He winked as he pressed his boot deeper against Bones' skin.

“It’s awfully small.”

“We’ll manage.”  

Jim smiled as Bones unlaced his boots.  He cupped his foot.  “Tights?”

Jim shrugged.  “Know you like to pull them off,” Jim said cheekily as Bones bit down on the end.  He smiled as the stocking came off his leg.  Bones then picked up his other foot and gave it the same treatment.

He kissed each of his toes.

“Come here.”

“On your chair?”  Bones teased.

They both knew Jim was a _little_ protective of it.

“I’ll share, this once.”  Jim wiggled his eyebrows.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

Jim moaned as he felt Bones thrust into him, hitting his tender stop.  He arched backwards, his abdomen, more round than it had been, ballooned outwards.  His breasts bounced as Bones ran his fingers over his now aching hard nipples.  

“Got you, Jimmy,” Bones muttered against his ear, sending a cold wisp of air against his earlob.

“Bones,” Jim cried as Bones thrust forward again.

He cried out as Bones’ seed filled him up.  He came with a tumble of emotions, his own seed spluttered out of him staining the seat they were crammed into.

In that moment, neither heard the turbolift door open.  Jim was still gasping and bright red as he fell back against Bones’ similarly sweat covered flesh..

“Keptin!  I…”

Jim looked up.  He knew Bones was going to murder him.

The wide eyed and slowly going red in the face, Chekov was standing in front of them.  He was fumbling with the PADD in his hand.

“Could… could you sign this?”  Chekov sputtered out.  

Jim found it amusing and endearing of all the places Chekov was trying to not look.  

Jim took the PADD.  He glanced at it.  He felt Bones shift behind him.

It was such a mediocre thing.

He was surprised Scotty had not just signed off on it himself.

Then Jim smiled…

_Of course…_

_The trickster…_

He signed it and handed it back to Chekov.  The poor kid…

“Thank you, sir”  The young navigator quickly turned on his heels and bolted out of the room.  Jim was not sure he had ever seen him run that fast before.

“Jim…”

He could already imagine the wrath he was about to get.

However instead of more words, he instead felt a soft rumble against his back.

He turned his neck, so he could properly look at Bones.

“Bones, are you… laughing?”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The admiralty pays Jim and Bones a visit...

It was a lazy Sunday in the month of November, two weeks before Thanksgiving and a week after Halloween.  

Jim had felt particularly energetic that morning and decided to cook Bones breakfast.

It was also the first morning in a long time that he didn’t feel sick.

Most mornings had him hovering over the toilet bowl like a lifeline.  

“I ain’t helping you with the dermal regenerator,” were the first words out of  Bones’ mouth when he entered the kitchen.

Jim rolled his eyes and swayed his hips.  They were getting larger now.

_Birthing hips..._

“Infant,” Bones muttered.

“You know you enjoy it,” Jim called back.    

Jim watched as Bones sat down at the bar.   He saw Bones cross his legs.  Jim smirked as he flipped the eggs.  

_He still had it._

He looked back at his eggs. They were turning a nice crisp brown around the edges.  He turned to the side and rested his hand over his swollen belly, which seemed to have ballooned outwards overnight. 

Since he entered the second trimester, it seemed like a daily occurrence.  Bones had said these were the crucial weeks. The weeks the babies were supposed to grow as much as possible in case he went early.  There was hope he would not but then again everything down to the fact Jim was male was new and uncertain.

He felt a massive creak forming in his back.  It was starting to occur more and more ofte.

“Hey.”

He felt Bones nuzzle up against him.  He wrapped one hand around Jim’s waist and with his other hand took the spatula from Jim’s hand.  He pressed a kiss against Jim’s neck.  Jim found himself melting against it.  He moaned as Bones left a trail of kisses down his neck.

“Bones…”

He groaned as Bones worked his way to his sensitive spot.  He felt his cock, which he could no longer see and barely existent with how far it had retreated upwards, harden.  

At the last measurement, it was barely larger than a toddler’s.  Something Jim definitely did not like since he had always been proud of his size.

And just as Jim was about to suggest they take this to the living room the doorbell rang.

They broke apart quickly.  

Jim looked down at his naked form.  

“You get something to wear.  I’ll get it.”  

Jim nodded.  He made sure to turn off the flame before disappearing to their bedroom.

“Admiral…” He heard the surprise from Bones’ voice filter through to their bedroom.  Jim hastily pulled on a shirt.  He groaned when it rolled up over his belly.  He definitely needed to get new clothes.   

Even Bones’ clothes which typically were larger than his had stopped fitting.  Not to mention, although Bones had not voiced his displeasure yet, Jim could tell he was getting unhappy about Jim stretching out his clothes.

He knew he could not go out like this to see the Admiral.  He dug through the drawers and found a pair of old denim overalls.  They looked old and faded.  They definitely did not belong to him.  He had never seen Bones wear them either.

He pulled them on and did up the clasps, amazed they did fit.  

He looked in the mirror.  He looked like a complete fashion disaster; however, he was at least covered.  

He definitely needed to get some new clothes.

He toed into a pair of laceless shoes and walked outside.

In the time it had taken Jim to get dressed, Bones had offered the Admiral tea and finger foods.  

He looked up as Jim walked in.

“Admiral Barnett.”

Barnett was an important man, who never made house calls.  It was clear whatever was going on was serious.

He noticed the slight hesitation and surprise in his face.

“Captain Kirk, please sit down.”  He motioned to the couch across from him.  Jim found it amusing that the admiral was offering him a seat in his own home; however, he did not comment.  He did not like being on his feet very long these days.

Bones slipped into the spot next to him.  Barnett hesitated.

“I trust since you came here instead of calling me in that the matter isn’t terribly secret.”

“Correct.”

“Then Dr. McCoy can stay.”  He did not phase it as a question or as an order.  

Barnett paused for a moment then nodded.  “That is for the best considering the circumstances.”

Jim was not going to lie, but that did worry him.

“Admiral, you’re making me worry.  I hope it’s nothing bad.”

“Not per say.  Do know we tried to get them to reconsider or postpone; however, they were most insistent.”

“Admiral?”

“I better just get on with it.  As you probably know, this is the fifth anniversary since the Organians imposed the human Klingon neutrality act.”

Jim almost without realizing it found his fingers run over his belly.  There was a sickening feeling that coursed through his body.

He remembered that mission.  It had been one of their first missions during their legendary five year mission.  It had prevented the Klingon human war that Admiral Marcus predicted. 

He felt Bones’ fingers snake up to his.

“They have insisted on an audience with both parties in one week’s time, on the anniversary of when the treaty was enacted.”

It would take almost that long to get there.

“They have specifically requested you and Commander Spock’s attendance.  They are allowing us to bring two more.”

Jim opened his mouth.

“Considering the circumstances,” Jim noticed the way he was looking at his belly now and the pause.  “We are sending Admiral Tanner to preside over the formalities.  This will divert their attendance away from you as the highest ranking officer."  Jim understood Barnett's trail of thinking.  However Jim remembered his first meeting with the Organians.  He had doubts it would work however he bit his tongue and decided not to comment.  There was no secret that most viewed his and Spock's actions a failure despite the begrudging peace that had won.  "He has requested the presence of his aide Junior Officer O’Henry, which has been granted.”  

“I feel like this isn’t up to debate, and both Mr. Spock and I have been volunteered.”

“Correct.”

“When do we leave?”

“First shuttle in the morning.  You will take a cruiser out of Jupiter Station.  The Organians have assured us it will be a quick and peaceful encounter.  It should be in and out type of deal, no more than a couple hours planetside.”

Jim almost wanted to laugh at _that_.  Even with the treaty when it came to Klingons, it was never peaceful or easy.

“And the Klingons?  How do we know they have agreed?”

“Our intel shows that the Klingons have agreed to the terms and will be sending their own team.”

Jim did not ask who or where the intel came from.  Since his encounter with Khan, he knew about the dark side of Starfleet that involved Section 31.

“We will send you the mission details via PADD and find a replacement for your class.”

“Thank you Admiral.  I’ll be ready.  You can count on us.”

“Good.  Remember this is bigger than us all.”

He stood up.  Jim and Bones quickly followed.  They saluted, and Jim showed him out.  When he closed the door, he was greeted by an extremely displeased Bones.

“Bones.”

"Jim, you're pregnant with multiples.  You cannot go deal with Klingons."  

"Bones..." Jim cringed.

"It's reckless.  It's dangerous.  It's stupid."

"Bones..."  Jim sighed and pinched his nose.  "The Organians are the only beings stopping an all-out war between the Federation and the Klingons.  You know if war happens, the Romulans will attack once they see our forces engaged.  It'll be brutal.  Millions of lives will be lost..."

Bones looked torn.  It was clear that Bones did understand, but similarly he was unhappy with the turn of events.  

Because even though Starfleet was about exploration and space, it was an army and the Federation’s first line of defense during times of war.

As much as they were doctors, ambassadors, researchers and engineers, they were also soldiers.

He knew Bones understood.

It was their duty.

"Why you, Jim?  Why does it always have to be you?"

"Guess it comes with the name."  Jim said warily.  Bones sighed.  He walked forward and wrapped his arms around Jim.  He cupped his belly.  Jim wondered how long before Bones would not be able to do that.  "Just come back safely.  All five of you..."

"Of course Bones.  You know I always try."  It was the best Jim could promise, but he was carrying precious cargo now.  He would have to try even harder.

For himself…

For Bones…

For their children…

Their children...

Bones nodded.  Because there was not anything else Jim could give him but his best and his hardest.

Their breakfast lay forgotten as Bones pulled Jim onto the couch.   

It should be easy.  

He should be back long before Thanksgiving.

But he still couldn’t help but be nervous about it anyways.  

Because when it came to Klingons it was never easy.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

When Jim and Bones arrived at the shuttle bay the next morning, Spock and Uhura were already there, as were Admiral Tanner and O’Henry.  

Jim was apprehensive about the admiral.  He had gone through the man's files.  He had spent his years on a space station far from Klingons and action.  Jim was sure the man had not fired a phaser since his days at the Academy.

Then there was Junior Officer O’Henry who was young and seemed to rise through the ranks almost as fast as Jim had.  

He was from a civilian family.  The first to join Starfleet, not that rare in these days.

He and Bones had exchanged their goodbyes in the privacy of their apartment.  Jim never liked public goodbyes.  They always felt over the top, too dramatic and final.

And goodbyes at the apartment meant sex and blowjobs, and Bones being sweet and talking to each of the babies.

_“Be good for Mama.  Make sure he doesn’t do anything Papa wouldn’t do.”  Then he had kissed each quadrant of Jim’s belly._

_Jim had found it so endearing he decided to not protest about being called Mama._

Bones had only come because he wanted to talk to the 'hobgoblin'.

"I'll make sure the captain and the fetuses come back safely, Doctor." Spock stated before Bones could get a word out.

Bones just blinked, shifted on the balls of his feet before thrusting a bag into Spock's arms.  The half Vulcan took it easily before falling back.  

Jim knew exactly what was in the bag.  Bones had handed him his own identical bag before they left the apartment.

It had been filled with protein bars,water packs, hyposprays for his allergies, a medical tricorder, and small first aid kit.

He was expecting daily transmissions on Jim and the babies’ health.  He even threatened, Klingon, Organians be damned if anything was amiss he would steal a cruiser if he had to, to get to them.

Jim could not quite figure out if he was joking or not.

He had known Bones and Spock long enough to recognize a silent conversation was occurring between the two as Bones stared at Spock for a few minutes before pulling back with Uhura.  

He waved before following Spock onto the shuttle.  

Up until the shuttle broke through the clouds, Jim could see the small figures belonging to Bones and Uhura as they waved at them.  It was only then that Jim realized since finding out he was pregnant this was the first time he would be apart from Bones.

He caressed his abdomen where their children were growing.

He would make it through this mission.  They all would.

However Jim’s sense of foreboding started the moment they boarded their ship at Jupiter Station.   It was definitely a far cry from the Enterprise or any cruiser Jim knew about.  In fact, Jim was certain this was not a standard issue Starfleet vessel.

It was clear she was built for speed and sleath, not comfort.

The way Spock’s eyebrow rose when they boarded confirmed Jim’s hypothesis.

It was a two compartment vessel: the control room and the rest of the vessel.

"I hope this isn't too small for you compared to your starship, Captain," Tanner smirked, almost as if, he read his mind.

Jim caught his condescending tone of voice.  He knew this type.  He thought after five years in space he would have proven himself.    "No Admiral, she appears to be a worthy ship and will serve us well."  

He watched as Tanner took the pilot seat.  He had not expected anything else from the man. 

Besides that was just fine with Jim.  He was not going to admit it, but he was having doubts he could fit or get out of the cockpit seat in his condition.

He also rather Tanner not see him trying to get up from low raise places.  

He soon realized that O’Henry was more like a trained dog than his own free minded person.  He seemed to hang on to each of Tanner’s actions like he hung the moon and back.  

He left the pair in the cockpit to find Spock in the other compartment.  He seemed to be mediating as Jim slipped into the seat next to him. He bucketed himself into his harness before digging through his bag and pulling out a PADD and the tricorder Bones had gave him.

_Bones,_

_We’ve just arrived on the ‘cruiser’.  Yes, the quotes are definitely intentional._

_Tanner is an ass, and O’Henry seems to worship the feet he walks on._

Jim pulled up the readings on the tricorder.

_The peanuts are healthy and growing.  They actually aren't peanuts anymore, huh?  But avocados..._

_Four little avocados…_

Jim smiled as he placed his hand on his swollen abdomen.

_Which are causing my entire wardrobe to far apart.  I expect new pants and shirts when I get back.  But at this rate, you’ll probably have to roll me off the shuttle in a wheelbarrow._

_Spock seems to have finished mediating.  Time to bug him._

_Lots of love,_

_Jim and our little avocados_

_P.S. Peanuts sound better._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This begins the Organian arc...


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Spock arrive on Organia...

_Bones,_

_We’re almost at Organia.  Thank god.  You know me Bonesy.  I love space, but… even my love for space isn’t enough right now._

_Even Spock, even though he refuses to admit it, is annoyed.  Have you seen an annoyed Vulcan before?_

_Speaking of Spock, what did you threaten him with? He’s like a mother hen.  I almost feel sorry for Uhura when they decide to finally have quarter Vulcan babies._

_Don’t worry about the peanuts.  They are definitely meeting all their milestones.  Spock is definitely making sure of that.  And I can feel it.  At this rate, a wheelbarrow’s not going to be enough to get me off this ship.  You’ll need to bring one of your granddad’s tractors._

Jim smiled fondly as he caressed his swollen abdomen.  

_Still can’t feel their kicks._

Jim inputted a pouty face.  There was a part of him that could not wait.  However similarly, there was a part of him that wanted to share it with Bones.  Although Bones had said even when Jim felt it, depending on whether it was early or late in his pregnancy, it did not mean it would be noticeable from  the outside for a while yet.

He paused then and set the PADD on his abdomen.  One of the only good things about his size besides the fact it meant the babies were growing was that he basically had a built in table.

He looked over to the cockpit where Tanners and O’Henry were.  He shook his head before turning back to his PADD.

_Just one more day and then another week before we see you.  Can’t wait._

Jim added a shifty eye emoticon.

_Lots of love,_

_Jim and our peanuts_

He slipped the PADD into his pack and looked across the seat to Spock.  Jim shook his head.  Minus the time that he was studying their mission data, which was sparse and limited, or mother hening Jim.  Jim could tell that irked his Vulcan first officer, ex first officer.  Jim mentally corrected himself, Spock spent the rest of him in deep mediation.  He had been tempted many times to ask Spock for pointers.

He and Bones had not talked about it, but Jim had grown up in a broken family.  He was not going to abandon their children while he and Bones trekked through the stars.  As much as he would love to go on another five mission, that likelihood was highly unlikely.  Of course there was regret, and he had not even held his babies yet.  But now, at nearly sixteen weeks, almost half way through by average calculation of quadruplet pregnancies, Jim could not deny the fierce protectiveness he felt for them.  He placed his hand over his swollen abdomen and closed his eyes.

Unlike Spock, who was mediating, something he did to avoid interacting with Tanners and O’Henry, Jim fell asleep.

 

XXXXXXXXX

 

When Jim woke up sometime later to a massive creak in his back, he should not have fallen asleep like that.  The ship felt like it was getting thrown around so violently as if it was made of plastic.

His stomach lurched forward as the ship went through a particularly horrible dive.  He turned to look at Spock who looked like he was not fairing much better.

He suddenly realized how lucky he was to have had Sulu as his chief pilot.  

He knew he was in good hands when he realized who Sulu was.  Hikaru Sulu, the one and only cadet whose piloting stimulation score Jim had never been able to beat during his time at the Academy.  It had infuriated him to no end back then.

He remembered Bones laughing when he told him who Sulu was, and he only told him to calm his nerves at the time.

“Only you, Jim.”  He had responded.

To which Jim came back with a, “means we have the best damn pilot in the fleet.”

Bones had just raised his eyebrow in response.

It was clear Tanners was not a good pilot. Jim tightened his grip on the harness with one hand, and with his other protectively wrapped it around his abdomen.  

From the port side window across from him, he was greeted by sporadic glimpses of browns and greens.  

He saw Spock from the corner of his eyes.  At least he was not the only one that felt vaguely sick, something he had never has a problem with before.  

Another pregnancy side effect…

Another to add to his long list…

The ship dropped again.

“Damn it.”  Jim cursed under his breath.  He clenched his harness strap harder.   He bit his lower lip to keep from saying anything else.  

That feeling of helplessness coursed through him.

He hated it.

He had never felt so helpless before.  He had the knowledge and skill to land this ship better than Tanners. But in his condition, his diminishing coordination, he had not been exaggerating with the messages he wrote to Bones.  He really felt like every time he woke up; he was getting bigger.

Which was good for the babies but did a horrible thing for his coordination.

He knew there was no way he could reach the cockpit without hurting himself and possibly the babies.

So he had to do the only thing he could.  He had to sit there and put his faith in a man that looked better on paper than in real life.  He hugged his swollen belly where his precious cargo grew and flourished within him.  

That was all he could do.  

He cursed himself for not being more careful.  That he should not be here.  He had been reckless in the past, but it was just not him anymore.  He should have fought the decision; however, before he could think further on that train of thought the ship made a loud thud, then a bump and a hard jolt. Jim felt the wind get knocked out of him as shuttle finally stopped.

“Captain?”

He opened his eyes.  He had not even realized he had closed them at the last second.  Spock was standing over him.  His normal stoic expression was replaced by one with worry.  He was holding one of Bones’ spare medical tricorders.  It was already humming and whirling.

“I’m fine.”  

“Dr. McCoy will as he put it ‘rip me a new one’ if you and his offspring come back harmed under my watch.  As a result I must check you and the fetuses’ health.”

Jim tried to suppress a grin.  

_Bones…_

Scary man with a wide array of colorful expletive word choices, and he loved him for it.

“If you put it that way, Spock, go ahead.”  He waved his hand.

He caught Tanners looking at him in the corner of his eyes.   He looked annoyed like Jim was wasting all of his time.  Like Jim did not deserve to be here.  That he could not believe that Starfleet had sent him here.

Jim was used to men like Tanners.  He had dealt with men like Tanners his whole life.  Men who thought Jim did not earn his place, that he did not deserve the Enterprise.  That it was because of his dad.

The thing was.  It did not phase him as much anymore.  He did not care what Tanners thought.

His unborn children and not invoking Bones’ wrath were more important to him.  

It seemed like forever before Spock was satisfied with his results.  He stood up.  “You and the fetuses have not suffered any injuries.”

It was due to years of training that Jim did not roll his eyes.

“Awesome.”  

He wished he still had his dexterity so he could bounce upwards to show Spock he could read his own body.  However, he similarly would not trade anything for what he has.  But he did still give Spock the pat on the shoulder before he walked around the man.

“Ready _captain?”_

“Yes sir.”  Jim answered.

Because even though Jim did not like the other man, he similarly knew despite what Starfleet and Starfleet intelligence reported they were about to meet with Klingons.  When it came to Klingons, it was never simple.

Jim was not surprised Organia looked the exact same as it had all those years ago.   The medieval castle loomed in the distance.  The Organian were not corporeal beings haven transcended the solid realm to live on as spiritual beings thousands of years ago.

Jim did not approve, but there were some battles that were just not worth fighting, and this was one of them.   The Organians could not understand that they did not have the right to meddle in the affair of other civilizations.  However they were similarly the only reason the Federation and the Klingon empire had not gone to war after the Marcus and Khan fiasco all those years ago.

The Organians were waiting for them a few steps away.  They were adorned in their plain, solid cloaks.  Like the first time Jim had met them, they had chosen to take on the appearance of old men.  Jim did not even want to think about how old they really were, or if age even had a meaning to something without a corporeal form.

As they approached them, Jim made sure to keep his hand as far away from his swollen abdomen as possible to draw as little attention to it as possible.

They had no reference of what the Organians would do if they found out.  Male pregnancies in humans were as far from the norm as possible.

It seemed the Organians were not interested or chose to ignore it.  Their eyes seemed to slip past his swollen abdomen when they approached him.

“Captain Kirk, we are most grateful you could come.”  

The sentiment did not seem to reach their eyes.  They were as dull and lifeless as ever.  Jim accepted their offered hand.  “Of course.  Happy to accept.”

“And these are your men?”  They did not wait for Jim to answer before moving on.  They seemed to have little interest in any of them.  There was a part of Jim that wondered if they even cared if he had even shown up.

“We will take you to your rooms to get settle in.  You will dine with the Klingons over the dinner we have prepared.”

“The Klingons have already arrived?” Tanner asked.  Jim wondered if he sensed a momentary panic like he did not actually think the Klingons would show up.

“Yes, they arrived early this morning.”  One of the Organians responded.

And that was that…

The ‘village’ looked exactly as it had all those years ago when Jim and his men thought it was real.  

The medieval village of a simpler life…

There were even the sound of children.  Hearing the laughter, Jim’s hand went to his abdomen where his own babies grew and flourished inside of him.

He was here as much for the Federation as he was for the future that his children would live in.  They could not go to war with the Klingons.

Like he told Bones, it would be bloody.  Millions of sons and daughters would never come home.  The tears of mothers and fathers would paint the universe with the blood of their children.  He could not have _that_.  They had to succeed.

“Captain?”

He was pulled from his thoughts.  They had stopped in front of a door.

“Your quarters.”  

They were shown to two adjoining rooms.

“Dinner will be when the bell tolls seven in the Great Hall.  Until then.”  The Organians turned and left, leaving them to sort out the rooms.  Naturally, Jim shared with Spock.  They took the closer room.

Inside they were greeted by two simple beds and a modest desk and chair.  On the desk was a platter of fruit, bread, meat and cheese.

“Hospitable,” Jim stated as he picked up a piece of fruit and popped it into his mouth.  

“Yes captain.”

Jim chose a piece of bread, folded in some cheese and meat, ate half of it before speaking again.

“Is something the matter, Spock?”

“I…”. There was a quick flash of green tint that crossed Spock’s cheeks that quickly disappeared.  “Something is off.”

“You felt it too, Spock?”  Jim sighed.  He finished his makeshift sandwich and walked over to the bed.  He pressed his hand down on the bed, checking its firmness.  It bounced back to his touch.

He pulled off his boots and settled into the bed.  

“Captain, shouldn’t we reconnaissance then?”  Spock seemed startled.

“No.”  Jim pulled up the blanket.

“Jim!”

He turned to face Spock.  “You told me yourself last time that we were here that they have been stagnant for thousands of years.  It’s still true Spock.  Everything looks exactly the same as it did then.  Even down to those boxes we blew up. Everything is exactly the same.”  Jim placed his hand over his swollen abdomen.  “Besides they specifically told us to stay here.”  

Spock raised an eyebrow.

“Besides,” Jim lowered his voice.  “I have a theory that if we do try to do _anything_ that clock tower will strike seven.”

“Captain…”

Before Spock could finish, the bells rang seven times.  

“Damn.”  Jim cursed. He really did want to get a little bit of shut eye.  There was the beginnings of a headache in the back of his head that formed every time he had to engage with Klingons.

He slipped back into his boots and laced them up.  He tried not to notice that such a simple taste was getting harder to do with what seemed like each passing day.  He swore he did not nearly have to stretch as far just yesterday.

“Come on Spock. Time to greet the Klingons.”

“Yes Captain.”

Tanners and O’Henry were already in the hallways.  

Of course it was them.

It took them a little longer than Jim would have liked to get to the Great Hall, which was not really so great. Tanners and O’Henry kept insisting they were leading them in a wild goose chase, that they could not possible remember the way after all these years.

Which was completely ridiculous because while Jim had almost a perfect memory, Spock definitely did have a perfect memory.

It was because he was a grown man that he did not glout when they pushed open the doors to the Great Hall.

Three of the four Klingons were already there.

_Damn it._

Jim immediately recognized all three of the Klingons in front of them.

_Kang, Kor and Koloth…_

Three Klingon captains that Jim had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting through his journeys.

“Come, sit, eat.”  The Organians cut into his thoughts.

They ushered them to chairs across the Klingons.

"You seemed to have really let yourself ... Go.”  Jim could see the laugh lines in Kang’s eyes.  He heard Kor and Koloth snort into their wine glasses.

"Bloodwine, Captain Kirk?"  Kor grinned and tipped the large wooden barrel in his direction.  "I know your first officer.  His kind doesn't appreciate the finer tastes of Klingon beverages.

Jim smiled. "That's okay, captain.  Since my first officer isn't going to partake.  It is only polite for me to decline."

"Pity," Kor set the barrel down with a loud clang.

For a second, Jim thought Kor had achieved super strength as at the exact same moment that he set the barrel down the entire room seemed to shake.

And then…

All of hell seemed to have broken loose.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go downhill...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I'm so sorry for the long delay. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

Even though he has lived in San Francisco for a number of years during his time at the Academy and had experienced his share of earthquakes.  When the walls, the table, the chair, everything started to shake, the first thing that came to mind was an earthquake.  Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around his abdomen.  

_His babies..._

His mind did not even think there was another possibility.  Something that should not have happened.

“Captain.”   

Before he could register what had happened, Spock had pulled him off his chair.  Reflex saved him as he caught himself as he went down.  Before he could say anything, a phaser blast obliterated the chair he had been sitting in.  All that was left was a wisp of smoke.

His throat ran dry at he reached for his phaser.  He gave Spock a nod of gratitude.  Spock returned it before he too reached for his phaser.

The room was in disarray.  Smoke and debris covered the once beautiful room.  Jim could barely make out anything further than the length of his hand.

He thought there were dark forms that seemed to simply flicker in and out of existence.  

He clinched the trigger of his phaser.  He tried to not think about the thousands of things that could go wrong.  

But to focus on the moment…

He had years of training for this type of situation.  He took a deep breath.  They were in the open.

Something or someone was shooting at them.

Their only source of cover was going to be inefficient soon.

“Spock, we got to find some better cover.”  Jim hissed.

“I agree, captain.  I believe the closest cover is thirty steps to our right.”

Jim did not doubt Spock’s calculations.

“I will provide you cover.”

“Negative captain.  I believe given the situation it would be wise for you to go first.”

Jim held back his retort.  

He did not deny that whoever went first definitely would have additional time with the surprise element accounted for.   There was no doubt given his condition he would need it.

“Okay Spock.” He lowered his phaser a millisecond.

Spock nodded to him.  

And he went…

Behind overturn chairs…

Broken tables...

The beams crisscrossed overhead.  Spock’s phaser blasts cut through the air.

Then… just as he was about to reach the end…

“Stand down.  This is Admiral Tanner of …”

Jim slid behind the wall…

And watched as twenty phaser blasts caught him square in the chest.  He seemed to glow a bright white before everything seemed to disappear.

He closed his eyes for a moment.  It was as long as he could sacrifice.

Before Spock was coming towards him…

Before he was firing…

Then…

Like everything had slowed down…

Spock pushed him…

His mouth opened as Spock seemed to visibly crumple over him.  

He fired again and again.

Spock was hit.  He had been hit.

Because of him…

He squeezed the trigger again.

“C… captain…” Spock placed his hand over his.

He looked at him.

“We need to go.”

He wanted to scream, where, how…

Spock pointed at a panel on the side of a wall that he hadn’t seen before.  “There.”

Jim nodded.  He backed into the wall.  With one hand still firmly grasping his phaser.  He pushed against the panel, and it easily fell inside.  

The passageway was tiny and narrow.  It was dark and dusty.  It made Jim sneeze.

The years, centuries of disuse were evident.

In the dark, damp passageway, their sounds seemed to be exponentially heightened.  Jim could hear everything.  The persistent drip, drip of the water drops…

Their bodies scuffling through the passageway…

And mostly Spock’s labored breath…

Jim wasn’t a doctor, but he had seen the green blood trickling down Spock’s side.  

It was bad.

He could only hope that Spock could hold on long enough for them to get to a secure location, wherever that was.

It felt like a lifetime before they saw sunlight, or the waning sun signaling the coming night.  Jim knew enough that the planet would get cold at night.  The desert around them did not hold heat well.  They would need to find shelter, somewhere to bunker down for the night, somewhere he could think.

Somewhere to treat Spock…

He turned back to look at Spock.  He felt a like sick at the sight that greeted him.  Spock was pale.  There was a pool of green fluid on his hand and running down the length of his arm.  The mere fact he had stopped hiding his wound made Jim feel sick.

It should have stopped by now, the bleeding.

It was Spock that spoke first.  "Captain..."

“Not now Spock,”  Jim snapped.  The look Spock was giving him.  He didn’t want to hear it. He looped an arm around Spock.  “Come on.  We’ll find a cave or something.”

He felt light, lighter than he should be as he half dragged, half pulled Spock across the desert wasteland.  He tried not to think about that obvious trail they were leaving behind.  He could only hope that nature itself would move to cover their tracks.

The stars were shining.  The only source of light was from the waning moon that allowed Jim to make out the shape of a cave in the distance.

It was the best thing he had seen in hours.

“Come on, Spock, just a little more.”

“Yes, Jim.”   

He tried not to think too much about the fact that Spock just called him Jim instead of Captain.  Unlike the rest of his senior command crew, Jim could count with his hands the number of times Spock called him Jim, and they were all during dire situations.

The cave was luckily devoid of any life.  Not that there were any life on this planet.  It was cool with a nice breeze.  He leaned Spock against the wall of the cave.  He was paler now than before.

He blinked at him as Jim slid onto a boulder across from him.  He rested a hand over his swollen abdomen.  In all the commotion, he had nearly forgotten he was pregnant.  Now, all the aches and pains of growing four other human beings hit him hard.

He dug out the tricorder Bones had packed for him and leaned over towards Spock.

He was surprised when Spock placed a hand on his.  “No, you first.”

“Spock.”

“The little ones…”

Jim sighed before nodding.  He leaned back and ran the scanner over himself.  It beeped and hummed before spitting out the numbers.  His blood sugar was low, and there was an abrasion on his arm that he hadn’t even realized but besides that he was fine.

The babies were fine…

They were healthy…

“All clear.”  He took a deep sigh before leaning back to Spock.  “Now, you.”

“C… captain, the sky…”

He turned to the entrance of the cave.  For a moment, Jim thought it was morning already.  But it couldn’t be.  The day-night cycle here weren’t that short.  It had just gotten dark.

He placed the tricorder in Spock’s free hand before walking to the entrance.

The sight before him left chills through the back of his neck.  The city was on fire, big burning waves of fire.  

Roaring and angry…

He pulled himself away.  

The wind wasn’t blowing in this direction.  It wouldn’t reach them.  The fire would burn itself out before it reached the sand.

He went back to Spock.

_Damn…_

He hadn’t noticed earlier, but he was still bleeding.  Whatever Spock had been hit with wasn’t a regular phaser burn.

“Captain, it’s fine.”

"Shut up Spock."  Jim snapped.  He pulled off his dress uniform and tore a section off, leaving him only with his black undershirt.  He never liked the grey tone anyways.  It was musky and dark.

He pressed the torn cloth against Spock’s wound.  "You're going to live Spock.  Damn it.  You're going to have pointy eared babies with Uhura, and our kids will marry..."  Jim blabbered on and on.  In that dark cave, on Organian, as the city burned.  

As Spock's green blood poured from his fingers, Jim continued to talk.  Even after Spock lost consciousness and even after Jim's voice ran hoarse.

As the skies darkened once again, Jim pressed the fresh cloth to Spock's wound and tied it with the remaining fabric of his jacket.  His first officer and one of his closest friends was dying.  However, Jim Kirk never believed in no win situations, and he wasn’t about to start believing in them now.  They were going to live damn it, and he was going to have that Thanksgiving feast with Bones.

For his unborn children, for Spock, for Bones, Jim was going to ask for help from those he never dreamed of asking before.

He left him the last of their water and rations that Bones had packed for him.

He looked at Spock’s form on last time before walking out of the cave.


End file.
